What happens when you mix hockey and golf? You get a happy Gilmore!

Rating: Null/10 (6 May 2001)

I am disappointed in all those "over 45 male" voters who rate this movie under "5". I give it a strong "8", and a "9.5" for pure entertainment. I've been playing golf for about 40 years, and I just love the spoof this film perpetrates.
Story; Happy Gilmore is a hockey player who wants to earn money to get his grandmother's house back. As movers are doing their thing, the golf clubs and balls spill on the lawn, Happy hits one a mile and they comment that he could earn money! That gets his attention.
He has an unusual style, hits it like a hockey player with a running start, occasionally misses it completely. Gets into a local tourney and qualifies for the tour!
His protagonist is the best pro golfer, "Shooter" expertly played by Christopher McDonald. Happy (Adam Sandler) destroys all golf traditions. In his first tourney he gets a caddy who he tackles because he thinks the caddy wants to steal his clubs. In a later pro-am tourney he is paired with Bob Barker, they get into a great fight on the course, Barker ends up putting his lights out.
Happy's love interest is Virginia (Julie Bowen, who plays on the TV show "ed")who is publicist for the tour. She helps to calm Happy down. The climax comes in the season ending championship, Shooter has bought grandma's house out of spite, agrees to give it to her if Happy wins the championship. Happy agrees to pull out of golf if he loses.
Happy goes to his new friend, old golf pro Chubbs (Carl Weathers) to actually teach him how to play well, instead of just relying on driving the green of par-4s to score well. Chubbs had lost his right hand to a gator, which re-surfaces later and leads to Chubbs' fall from the second story window.
Happy gets grandma's house back, he and Virginia end up together, Shooter fails to win the championship one more time. This is not high art, doesn't even have a good moral to it. What I like is the inventive ways they debunk some of the myths of golf and have fun with that. Will remain one of my favorite movies just for a fun time.
Cameo appearances are also made by Lee Trevino and Ben Stiller, who plays an unscrupulous male nurse in grandma's nursing home.