The trailer for “Happy Gilmore 2” dropped this week and it was received enthusiastically across social media, like a much needed hug from an old friend.
Adam Sandler himself posted it on X with the sweet caption, “Hope you all have fun and thanks for all the great times.”
In a world that’s so cynical, so divided, where everything is examined through a political lens, Sandler is a wisecracking, healing salve in oversized basketball shorts.
The sequel to the beloved 1996 comedy about the hard hitting hockey player turned unlikely golf pro, might end up being crapola. But that’s not the point. The nostalgia simply felt good.
Hello again, Happy, you lovable lunatic. We could say the same about his creator, Sandler, who has emerged as a man for our polarized times.
Who else but this lovable Jewish schlub could steal the show at the black tie Oscars in a teal hoodie?
It’s been 30 years since Sandler left “Saturday Night Live” and cemented himself as a successful comedic actor with “Billy Madison,” about a wealthy, man-child slacker.
From there he has been prolific. He churned out funny flicks – like “The Waterboy,” “Big Daddy” “The Wedding Singer” and yes, “Happy Gilmore” – creating instant classics beloved across generations.
which was rleaed in 1998, Adam Sandler plays a, you guessed it, an 80s weddng singer alongside co-star Drew Barrymore. ©New Line Cinema/courtesy Everett / Everett Collection
More serious roles have shown off his versatility. He earned praise for his dramatic turn in “Punch Drunk Love” and his frenetic performance in “Uncut Gems” as a jeweler drowning in his compulsive gambling habit. Then as a desperate NBA scout in “Hustle” who discovers a raw talent in Spain and proceeds to pour everything he has into the long shot prospect.
But still his bread and butter is comedy — and by remaining politically ambiguous — he’s kept everyone laughing.
While he did sit for an episode of Joe Rogan in 2022, he doesn’t run around dropping hot takes on podcasts and his social media imprint is strictly work and anodyne appreciation posts for veterans and first responders.
Does he lean right or left? Not that there hasn’t been speculation. We don’t know for sure. And who the hell cares?
That’s part of Sandler’s enduring universal appeal.
Maybe the lone dissenters are the establishment critics, who look down their nose at his singular brand of goofy comedy, and mocked the $250 million four picture deal he originally signed with Netflix in 2014, and renewed for undisclosed (read: even bigger) sums in 2017 and 2020.
Pretty good for a guy whose first language is guttural gibberish.
But no one exemplifies the gulf between critics and regular ol’ folks better than Sandler.
We can, however, easily discern that the married father of two stands for wholesome values: friendship, family and faith.
“The Hanukkah Song” which he originally performed during an episode of SNL’s “Weekend Update” in 1994 – has become as much of a seasonal stalwart as “Jingle Bells.” And his questionable fashion has inspired schools across the country to adopt “Adam Sandler Day” where students dress up in his trademark sloppy oversized togs.
He prefers to work with friends, including regular collaborators Drew Barrymore, Kevin James, Jennifer Aniston and his fellow SNL alum like Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider.
On the surface, Sandler makes movies that are schlocky, yes, and funny but which are packed with a menagerie of equally ridiculous and hyperbaric characters. But the underpinnings are so much more substantial.
And like the catchphrase from his Mr. Deeds movie, “sneaky sneaky,” he hits you with a punch of sentimentality that you never saw coming.
“When Bruce Springsteen’s “Growing Up” starts playing toward the end of “Big Daddy”, you realize all the gut busting nonsense was a Trojan horse — sneaking in beautiful life lessons about fatherhood and building and holding together families and old pals.”
In one of his latest flicks, “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” starring his wife Jackie and daughters, Sadie and Sunny, Sandler offers the ultimate defense of faith and family.
The Netflix movie follows his preteen daughter (played by Sunny) and her middle school drama as she and her best friend plan their Bat Mitzvahs.
Sure, it parodies elements about the Jewish rite of passage: the rabbis are woke and kooky and the money splashed out is obscene. But ultimately, when his daughter is caught kissing a boy in a sacred part of the synagogue, he loses it on her in a rant.
His lecture centers around the importance of belonging to the Jewish faith and tradition. But in Sandler fashion, it’s peppered with quips like, “That’s why we fought the Nazis, so you could have a mojito bar.”
It was moving and sweet and a reminder that even the most pure sentiments can be smuggled through laughter. And Sandler’s the master at it.
