Is Happy Gilmore 2 a movie? A meta career retrospective? Or just an excuse for Adam Sandler to throw the most absurd Netflix party since Murder Mystery 2? Sometimes it’s one, sometimes the other. Often, it’s all three at once.

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Directed by Kyle Newacheck (Workaholics, Murder Mystery) and written by Sandler and his longtime partner-in-comedy Tim Herlihy, this belated sequel to the 1996 cult classic isn’t here to win Oscars. It’s here to throw golf balls at your face, shotgun nostalgia, and remind you that in the Sandler Cinematic Universe, anything – and anyone – can show up.

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The premise picks up decades after Happy’s beer-chugging, club-swinging glory days. He’s now a washed-up legend, haunted by a tragic golfing accident that killed his beloved Virginia (Julie Bowen, glimpsed in flashbacks). These days, Happy’s drowning in booze and bagging groceries … until his daughter Vienna (Sunny Sandler, in a surprisingly sweet and grounded turn) gets accepted to an elite ballet school in Paris with a $300,000 price tag.

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You can guess the rest. Happy sobers up, dusts off his swing, and jumps back into pro golf. But here’s where the sequel gets weird (and weirdly meta): Happy, once the blue-collar rebel of the PGA Tour, is now seen as part of the establishment. And a new generation of golf disruptors, led by Benny Safdie, wants to take over the sport and remake it into something like American Gladiators on Monster Energy drinks and TikTok filters. 

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To win one final mega-match and pay for Vienna’s tuition, Happy has to make peace with Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald, still chewing scenery and stealing scenes), recruit the son of his late mentor, Chubbs (Lavell Crawford), and team up with four of today’s top golfers for one last swing at redemption. The course is seven holes of chaos, and the opposition is a squad of genetic freaks led by Haley Joel Osment. Because, why not?

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The movie doubles as a full-on Sandlerverse reunion tour. Cameos fly at you like Happy’s 400-yard drives: Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, Kevin Nealon and Jon Lovitz are joined by Sean Evans, Travis Kelce, Kid Cudi, Dan Patrick, Ben Stiller, Margaret Qualley and Guy Fieri. Even Eminem drops in.

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The best of the bunch is Bad Bunny, who gets the most to do and is a welcome riot as Happy’s new caddy. Sandler’s real-life wife and two daughters also have substantial roles, giving the film a weirdly personal, if chaotic, energy.

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Some of this works. Some of it doesn’t. There are moments where the film flirts with emotional heft – especially as Happy battles grief and addiction – and you wonder if we’re about to veer into Uncut Gems or Punch-Drunk Love prestige picture territory. But those moments pass quickly, usually in favor of another “OH MY GOD, IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?” cameo or a crass joke that lands (or doesn’t) like a golfball launched into space.

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For longtime fans of Happy Gilmore, this is comfort food: messy, loud, occasionally great, and loaded with inside jokes. There’s enough heart and humor to justify a Friday night watch, ideally with friends, beers, and tempered expectations.

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But if you’re walking in cold, Happy Gilmore 2 might feel less like a comedy and more like a pop culture hostage situation. It’s so steeped in Sandler lore and callback overload that, without the context, it’s like watching a sugar-high social media supercut on fast forward.

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In the end, your enjoyment depends on how much Sandler you can take. For fans, it’s a loud, loving reminder of why they fell in love with the big, goofy heart behind the rage-fueled backswing. For everyone else … maybe start with the original.