Why Happy Gilmore 2 Broke out in Canada

When Happy Gilmore 2 premiered on Netflix in July 2025, the success it had in Canada mirrored the record-breaking performance it enjoyed across North America. Not only did the film go straight to #1 on the Netflix Top 10 charts in Canada, the massive wave of nostalgia caused the original 1996 Happy Gilmore to climb into the Canadian Top 10 as well. Without revealing any spoilers, I will outline a few reasons why people might find the movie enjoyable, as well as why it may not resonate with certain audiences.

I should preface this by stating I was an 80s baby who grew up on shows like The Simpsons and South Park, so I have always had a taste for the absurd. Furthermore, I have also followed Adam Sandler’s career from his start on Saturday Night Life all the way through his hit films in the 90s and 2000s. His goofy, manchild antics aren’t for everybody, but I’ve never found him grating or off-putting, unlike fellow SNL alum castmates such as Rob Schneider and David Spade. I never saw Billy Madison in the theatres, but when I rented it on video… I found the movie to be amusingly stupid. I did see Happy Gilmore when it came out in the cinemas, and it had moments that were so legitimately hilarious (e.g., when he imagined his dream place) I found myself laughing so hard I was crying. In my mind, it solidified Sandler as a legitimate comedy star. In college, I was given the nickname “Adam” because the young version of him vaguely resembled the even younger version of me, and I took it as a compliment because he was a big deal. I honestly haven’t followed his career as closely through the 2020s, although he obviously maintains a massive fan base given the hundreds of millions of dollars he’s made through his exclusive Netflix movie deal.

This takes us to Happy Gilmore 2. I’ve always been wary of sequels because they tend to be nothing more than rehashes of the original, with the point seemingly to be “remember when funny stuff happened in the first movie? Well, here is that funny stuff again, but less funny because it’s predictable.” But I came into this movie with an open mind, and after watching it, I came away feeling like it was better than I had expected even if it isn’t exactly Oscar-worthy.

Reasons to like the movie

First and foremost, Happy hasn’t changed at all. Sandler is one of the few actors who can make a deadbeat jackass come off as likeable. Christopher McDonald reprises his role as Gilmore’s arch foe Shooter McGavin, and the whole dynamic between them feels fresh in spite of the fact that it’s a sequel. Also, the first 15 minutes also lean into the nostalgia of the first film by paying tribute to the likes of Bob Barker, Carl Weathers, and beloved Canadians Joe Flaherty and Frances Bay, all of whom played memorable roles. This touching ode to these deceased characters sets the tone for the rest of the movie.