Harmless fun and entertaining.

Rating: 7/10 (1 October 2003)

I must admit, I sat down to watch this movie expecting to see the Sandler trademark character who has mental/emotional problems. Whilst this is true to the extent that Happy Gilmore has chronic anger management issues, it falls short of the usual "character who has no grasp of the real world" which so often has predominated in Sandler films. Instead, Happy is savvy enough to know when he's being mocked and more than Happy (no pun intended) to beat the crap out of anyone who does so.
The story is entirely predictable. However, you don't mind this, as with such films, the fun and entertainment comes not from being uncertain what is going to happen next, but rather from the anticipation of what you know will happen in due course.
All the cast give great comic performances, though I felt more use could have been made of Sandler's homeless caddy. For the most part he just stands around. Likewise, Ben Stiller's minor role of the evil nursing home attendant ended rather abruptly. I was expecting a showdown between Stiller and Sandler over the former's treatment of Sandler's grandmother, but it never happened. I suspect this was a cut-scene, as I can't imagine the two of them not seeing the great potential in such a confrontation.
The only really negative thing I can say about this movie (and it is really a generic failing of Hollywood that I've noticed in several movies lately) is the reliance on audience knowledge of cameo characters in order to get laughs. Just who is Bob Barker? I have no idea and I suspect a lot of the non-American audience will have no idea either. To me the whole fight scene on the golf course between Sandler and Barker was nowhere near as funny as I imagine it would be if I had any inkling of who he (Barker) was.
But overall the film delivers plenty of gentle humour and the occasional guffaw. Well worth a look, even if you've been turned off by Sandler's characters in the past. For me, Sandler has taken a turn (albeit a modest one) in the right direction with his characters here.