Sometimes a sequel can feel gratuitous, and sometimes it can feel completely necessary – then again, it turns out it's possible for both of those two positions to coexist. I watched Happy Gilmore for the first time only around a year ago, and I definitely didn't leave it desperate for a continuation of its story.
Still, though, the news that Netflix has a sequel in the can, and the fact that it just got its first proper trailer also hasn't made me feel too cynical. I'm willing to give it the time of day when it hits the streaming service on 25 July, a release date announced in that very same trailer.
Adam Sandler will return in the titular role, reclaiming one of his most famous characters. Gilmore's an ex-hockey player who never had much going for him beyond incredible power in his shot, and in the first movie he leveraged that to become an unlikely golfing hero, learning from grizzled veterans and popularising a maniacal technique.
Now it looks like he'll be picking up the clubs again, although exactly why isn't clear – other than that he'll need to get back to the top of the game as quickly as possible. The original movie had some telling cameos from golf greats of the time, and this first teaser features a clear glimpse of Rory McIlroy, suggesting that we could be in for more fun along those lines.
I'd assume that Happy won't be playing to save his grandma's house this time around, given her age in the first movie, but there's also a look at that classic location to confirm that Netflix will be remorseless in how it targets your nostalgia for that comedy classic. That said, Happy Gilmore is from an era where movies could be iconic without necessarily being that great, as a 62% score on Rotten Tomatoes confirms.
Still, nearly 30 years on this could be a big movie for Netflix, and one of its biggest sequels ever – it'll hope to capture an audience who remember the first movie fondly. It'll also need new viewers to help it maintain pace as one of the best streaming services on the market, though.
