Happy Gilmore

By Michael Sauter
Published on July 19, 1996 04:00AM EDT

Adam Sandler literally throws himself into this tailor-made showcase as the jugheaded Happy, an unemployed hockey goon-turned-overnight golf sensation who stages epic mid-match tantrums, gets beat up by celebrity partner Bob Barker, and even wrestles an alligator in a country-club lake. You probably skipped Happy Gilmore in theaters because it looked like just another Adam Sandler movie. But actually, it’s a sort of Gen-X Caddyshack, with some good, punchy slapstick and delightfully sick twists. Sandler acts like a perfect jackass. And that’s what he does best. B-

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