Happy Gilmore MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -2

Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) has wanted to be a hockey player since he was a little tyke. Now grown, his annual hockey team tryouts are disastrous. Happy's short fuse and violent reactions to being rejected just lead to more rejection. His oasis of love and acceptance is his elderly grandmother (Frances Bay) who brought him up. Now she is losing the family homestead for non-payment of taxes, and Happy is determined to come up with $270,000 to get her house back. Accidentally, he discovers he can hit a golf ball farther than most pros. Spotted at a driving range by Chubbs (Carl Weathers), a former pro, Happy is encouraged to develop his talent. The reluctant but desperate young man is catapulted into the national spotlight as he breaks every rule on the golf course. But tournament officials cannot disqualify him because of Happy's tremendous following that translates into sponsors' big profits. His nemesis and competitor is handsome, egotistical Shooter McGavin (Christopher MacDonald). Shooter's wrath at being upstaged by this upstart on the tour leads to all kinds of devious efforts to have Happy's career end abruptly. Some will think this comedy is silly, some may think the world of pro sports is ridiculous, but all will leave the theater with a smile on their face.

Happy slams hockey players into a wall, hits coaches with hockey sticks and throws golf clubs into the galley and even wrestles an alligator for a lost ball. That, plus his cursing non-stop when he is upset, shows how immature he is. His bizarre behavior at the skating rink caused his father's death when Happy was little. Years later, his mentor, Chubbs, dies as a result of a fatal fall triggered by Happy. In a pro-am tournament, the unconventional golf hero is paired with Bob Barker, host of TV's The Price is Right. In that scene Happy plays so poorly Barker attacks him and a fistfight breaks out. Clowning around, Happy uses a hose and a mop in a crude way, and after a golf tournament, a buxom fan insists he autograph her chest. When Happy falls for a lovely young woman, no sexual relationship develops, and he takes her home to meet his beloved grandmother. It's hard not to like Happy, but his disrespect for authority and offensive language send out disturbing messages.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Universal Pictures, 100 Universal Blvd., Universal City, CA 91608