It’s lengthy been a operating joke in Hollywood that Adam Sandler loves filming vacation spot films so he can flip a trip into work, and that he by no means misses an opportunity to forged his buddies.
“Joyful Gilmore 2,” arriving practically 30 years after the unique, doesn’t happen in some tropical paradise, but it surely does function loads of acquainted Sandler co-horts, after which some. The listing of cameos, starting from well-known actors to real-life athletes, is huge. (I counted over 100 in the long run credit alone.) The movie leans into this with a operating gag of shock appearances, callbacks, and tributes. At one level, a scene set in a cemetery actually pauses to honor forged members from the primary movie who’ve handed away. It’s surprisingly tender.
Sandler has all the time been a sentimental man, and that affection for his family and friends shines by in “Joyful Gilmore 2,” for higher or worse.
The film opens with a voiceover that brings us in control. Joyful is now married, has 5 kids, and is contemplating stepping away from the game that made him a legend. He can’t go anyplace with out being mobbed. He’s spoken about in the identical breath as Tiger Woods. However when his spouse Virginia (Julie Bowen) abruptly leaves, Joyful spirals right into a full-blown disaster.
Not like the primary film, the place he was simply attempting to save lots of his grandma’s home, this time the stakes are rooted in fatherhood. His youngest daughter, Vienna (performed by Sandler’s real-life daughter Sunny), needs to review overseas in Paris, which doesn’t come low-cost. It’s the type of easy however private motivation that’s sufficient to tug Joyful out of his post-DUI droop (he crashed a go-kart) and again onto the inexperienced. He even turns down a proposal to affix MAXI, a flashy upstart golf league clearly modeled after LIV, which threatens to upend the skilled {golfing} world.
That stress between custom and spectacle helps give “Joyful Gilmore 2” its backbone. Not like within the authentic, the place Joyful had nothing to lose, this time he has lots to show: to his daughter, to his followers, and to a era of golfers who’ve grown up watching him. Actual-life professionals like Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Jack Nicklaus, and Scottie Scheffler present up taking part in exaggerated variations of themselves, they usually all appear to be in on the joke. Their presence provides some authenticity and lets the viewers really feel like they’re a part of the clubhouse.
However whereas the cameos are enjoyable, the film doesn’t all the time know when to cease. For each impressed bit (like Unhealthy Bunny stealing scenes as Oscar, Joyful’s chaotic caddie), there are others that fall flat (Travis Kelce and Boban Marjanovic present up for… causes). The sheer quantity of visitor appearances generally threatens to overshadow the story.
Nonetheless, the movie delivers on what Sandler followers are seemingly displaying up for. There’s loads of bodily comedy and absurd gags (together with a operating joke the place Joyful turns random objects like cucumbers and iPhones into makeshift flasks).
The return of Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) goes in a genuinely stunning course, and Ben Stiller’s Corridor, the villainous orderly from the unique, makes a memorable comeback that flips the dynamic in sudden methods. Even supporting characters like Robert Smigel’s IRS agent and Blake Clark’s Farmer Fran pop in for a fast dose of nostalgia.
“Joyful Gilmore 2” is aware of precisely what it’s doing. It’s not aiming for essential acclaim or franchise reinvention. It’s a victory lap, a hangout film, a streaming-era sequel made for followers who simply need to see Sandler and the gang goof off and chase one final giggle. It gained’t have the identical cultural footprint as the unique, but it surely’s completely serviceable, typically very humorous, and surprisingly candy. A becoming sequel that is aware of its viewers and doesn’t overthink it.
HAPPY GILMORE 2 is now streaming on Netflix.