Plot: What’s it about?
The sport of golf has come a long way since Happy Gilmore first arrived in 1996. Later that year Tiger Woods would make his professional debut and change the sport forever, making it more popular and almost single handedly transitioning it mainstream. At the same time, Adam Sandler was known for his work on Saturday Night Live and his previous movie, Billy Madison was his only foray as a leading man. Happy Gilmore changed all of that. While not a huge commercial success at the time, the gross was modest enough that it got him noticed and the rest – as they say – is history. Happy Gilmore was a showcase for Sandler’s juvenile humor and no one loved it more than me.
Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) is a wannabe hockey player. The only problems are that he can’t skate too well and can’t seem to handle the puck. But he’s got a slap shot that would make Al MacInnis envious (there’s a reference for you puck heads). When he learns that his grandmother’s (Frances Bay) house is repossessed by the IRS, he’s got to take action. As it turns out his hockey game translates well to golf. After winning the Waterbury Open, he finds himself on the Professional Golf Tour where he intends to use his winnings to bail out his Grandmother. Standing in his way is tour pro Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) who feels that Happy is “…a disgrace to the game.” In his corner, however, is Virginia Bennett (Julie Bowen), the tour’s PR director. Together with her assistance and that of former golf great Chubbs Peterson (Carl Weathers), Happy can accomplish his goal.
I’ll be the first to admit, as a film critic, that Happy Gilmore isn’t the best movie out there. I personally like it and have seen it countless times. For every classic movie there’s four or five like Happy Gilmore. Adam Sandler has become more commercially successful in his movies, but I really don’t think I’ve laughed harder at his performance than in this movie. Under the surface is the comic performance of Christopher McDonald, someone who’s done drama and comedy and can pull each off very convincingly, his Shooter McGavin is likable yet despicable in the same sense. Sure this movie has its flaws and there’s more product placement than you can shake a stick at (then again, watch a golf tournament on a weekend and count the number of advertisements you see), but that’s that. Suffice it to say that this will probably be the only movie, past or future, that has a fight scene between a game show host (Bob Barker) and a golf player. Couple that with a sociopathic nurse (Ben Stiller) and, well, what more does one need?
Video: How does it look?
Happy Gilmore is one of those movies that’s seen a release on just about every format available. And I’ve seen it on VHS, LaserDisc, DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-ray and now on 4K. Suffice it to say that with each subsequent release the picture quality seemed to improve, but with its HD-DVD/Blu-ray release, that’s where it ended. It’s been nearly a decade and a half since we’ve had any sort of uptick in picture quality and, finally, with this 4K version we get what we’ve been waiting for. By and large a lot of the shots seem to have a bigger burst of color. Detail has been bumped up which is particularly noticeable in some of the shots of Happy’s hockey jersey and flannel shirts. The lush greens of the golf courses appear more vivid as well. There are several instances of stock photography/scenes used, so those don’t have quite the impact that I’d thought/hoped/suspected. If you want the technical specs, this new transfer features a brand New HDR/Dolby Vision Master taken from a 6K Scan (Arri Dry Gate Full Aperture 5460 x 4150 16-Bit) of the EK Original Negative. That’s a mouthful. What I got out of it was that it’s damn near perfect. Here are some screen shots that show the Blu-ray compared to this new 4K image. Enjoy (I did).
Audio: How does it sound?
Unlike the video, the audio has been given a nice little shot in the arm. The previous Dolby Digital Plus mix has been overhauled with a pretty spiffy sounding DTS HD Master Audio mix. One would figure that “while they were at it” they might go for a full on Dolby Atmos mix, but the movie didn’t really need it. Still, Happy Gilmore isn’t a movie that will light up your system, but there are some decent spots that let the soundtrack shine. When Happy hits his drive, the trees resonate in the background, the cannon used to accentuate it sounds great and the crowd scenes sound good as well. Dialogue is strong and well-centered. This is, by far, the best the movie has ever sounded.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Disc One (4K)
- Audio Commentary – Aside from the improvement in picture quality, we do get a new commentary track with Author and Filmmaker Bryan Connolly & The Billy Gilmore Podcast Host Wilson Smith. I want to say that these two know their stuff, and I’m not saying they don’t, but don’t prepare yourself to be enlightened by anything major about the movie. Most of what they do is talk about when they first saw it, their recollections about some of the early Sandler films, some of the casting and so forth. It wasn’t bad by any means and it was nice to have this feature on the discs, but most of what they offer about the film can be found in the IMDb’s trivia section for this movie.
Disc Two (Blu-ray)
- Audio Commentary – Same as above.
- Deleted Scenes – Nearly 20 minutes’ worth of these and some feature Ben Stiller’s character of “Hal L.” that can be seen in some televised versions of the film. Why they weren’t included in the final theatrical cut is beyond me, but it’s good to have them nonetheless.
- At Grandma’s House
- Waterbury Open
- Happy on Tour
- Nursing Home
- Happy Land Mini-Golf
- League Champions
- Outtakes – Essentially that. Just some outtakes set to annoying music.
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
OK. I know. Happy Gilmore isn’t the kind of movie that was made to win awards. Although, ironically, it did. Yes, it was the recipient of the inaugural MTV Movie Award for Best Fight. You can see Happy fight Bob Barker right here. You’re welcome. And, having said that, the movie is just as popular now (if not more so) than it was when originally released. We’ll do our best to forget the sequel that came out a few decades too late. But as it stands, the uptick in image quality is certainly welcome and the addition of a newly-recorded audio commentary turns this birdie into an eagle.
