Happy Gilmore 2 (2025) – Plot, Cast, Easter Eggs & Ending Explained

Happy Gilmore 2 (2025) – Plot, Cast, Easter Eggs & Ending Explained

2025 Happy Gilmore 2 — Plot, Cast, Easter Eggs and Ending

Netflix released Happy Gilmore 2 worldwide on July 25, 2025. The long‑awaited sequel, arriving twenty‑nine years after the original, is directed by Kyle Newacheck, best known for Workaholics. Adam Sandler once again plays the hot‑tempered yet charismatic golf maverick Happy Gilmore. Clocking in at 117 minutes, the film debuted directly on the streaming platform, preserving the first movie’s scrappy underdog humor while introducing new themes such as mid‑life crises, family responsibility, and the commercialization of professional sports.

Happy Gilmore 2 (2025) – Detailed Plot Summary

Thirty years after Happy Gilmore’s unlikely rise in the golf world, we find him a celebrated but much older champion turned family man. By the mid-2020s, Happy has enjoyed a stellar career – winning multiple tour championships (he even amassed six coveted gold jackets) – and he settled down with his beloved wife, Virginia Venit, raising five children together. However, Happy’s bliss is short-lived. During an outing on the links, a horrific accident occurs: one of Happy’s trademark powerful drives goes astray and tragically strikes Virginia, killing her.

The loss of Virginia devastates Happy. Wracked with guilt and grief, he abandons golf entirely and falls into a downward spiral of despair. Overwhelmed by alcohol abuse and anger, Happy squanders his fortune and even loses his late grandmother’s house, eventually facing legal trouble after a drunken altercation with a repo man (an incident that leads to a costly lawsuit and financial ruin).

By the time we catch up with him in 2025, Happy Gilmore is a shell of his former self – broke, bitter, and drowning his sorrows in booze while working as a clerk at a local supermarket. He sneaks liquor in creative ways at work (his knack for hiding whiskey bottles knows no bounds) and seems content to waste away as an “inveterate alcoholic”. The only bright spot in Happy’s life is his youngest child and only daughter, Vienna, a talented teen ballerina.

When Vienna is accepted into the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet School, Happy is elated – until he learns the tuition is about $300,000 ($75k per year for four years). Double shifts at Stop & Shop won’t scrape together that kind of money. Determined to give his daughter the opportunity he can’t afford, Happy considers doing the one thing he swore he never would: picking up his golf clubs again. With some nudging from those who still believe in him – including a hard-partying cameo by PGA legend John Daly, who literally lives in Happy’s garage and encourages him to “dust off the clubs” – Happy decides to attempt a comeback.

Happy’s first steps back into golf are far from graceful. Out of shape and still battling his demons, he embarrasses himself at a local course – getting sloppy drunk, driving a golf cart into an obstacle, and causing a scene that lands him in legal trouble. Instead of jail time, the court orders Happy to attend an innovative rehab program for alcoholics. To his shock, the support group “Healing Alkies for Life” (HAL) is run by none other than Hal L., the sadistic nursing-home orderly who tormented Happy’s grandma decades ago in the first film.

Hal (played again by Ben Stiller) has not mellowed with age – he’s still an abusive grifter at heart, now masquerading as a self-help guru. Under Hal’s thumb, Happy struggles with mandatory group therapy, but a friendly fellow attendee (portrayed by Sandler’s real-life daughter Sadie) helps keep him focused on recovery. Staying sober and controlling his volcanic temper are now conditions for Happy to remain free, so he grits his teeth through Hal’s insults and vows to rebuild himself. All the while, Hal’s nefarious behavior (and shady money-grabbing from vulnerable addicts) does not go unnoticed – a hint that Hal’s comeuppance is looming down the line.

Meanwhile, a bold new player emerges in the world of professional golf: Frank Manatee (Benny Safdie), a young tech billionaire and energy drink mogul, debuts the Maxi Golf League as a flashy rival to the PGA Tour. Styled as an over-the-top parody of real-life upstart circuits (it’s a tongue-in-cheek jab at the LIV Golf craze), Maxi Golf is all about spectacle. Its tournaments feature only seven holes instead of eighteen, shot clocks to speed up play, pyrotechnics, neon lighting – “golf for the short attention span” as Manatee boasts.

Eager to legitimize his league, Manatee approaches Happy Gilmore to be the tour’s marquee star. He dangles a lucrative offer, hoping the legendary bad-boy of golf will bring fans and credibility to Maxi Golf. Happy, however, refuses – despite the money, his loyalty (surprisingly) lies with traditional golf and the PGA Tour. Frustrated by the rejection, Manatee concocts a high-stakes challenge to force the issue. He strikes a deal with the PGA Tour’s leadership: an unprecedented winner-take-all team showdown between the old guard and the upstart league.

The top five finishers at the upcoming Tour Championship will form Team PGA, to face off against Maxi Golf’s five best players on Manatee’s extreme course. Pride, legacy, and the very “soul of the sport” are on the line in this contest – and for Happy, it represents a shot at personal redemption. If he can qualify for one of those five Team PGA spots, he’ll not only defend the sport he loves, but also have a chance (through prize money or side bets) to secure Vienna’s tuition. With newfound determination, Happy commits to training for the Tour Championship.

Under the mentorship of some unlikely allies, Happy starts to regain his swing. He hires a new caddy, Oscar Mejías (Bad Bunny), an eager but golf-illiterate busboy who provides comic relief and heart in equal measure. Happy also seeks guidance from an old friend’s family: Slim Peterson (Lavell Crawford), the son of Happy’s late mentor Chubbs. Like his father, Slim sports a wooden hand (having lost his to a vending machine mishap rather than an alligator) and imparts some of Chubbs’ wisdom to help Happy focus. With Oscar and Slim by his side – and a calmer, sober mindset – Happy enters the U.S. Bank Tour Championship as a long-shot contender.

In an exhilarating comeback montage, Happy gradually shakes off the rust and starts climbing the leaderboard, unleashing his monstrous drives and showman antics to the delight of fans and commentators (Verne Lundquist returns to call the action with deadpan quips). After three rounds, Happy is surprisingly in contention for a top-five finish. However, the final day of the tournament happens to fall on Mother’s Day, which triggers an emotional crisis for Happy. As he walks the course, he hallucinates visions of Virginia watching him play – a poignant reminder of his loss.

The grief and guilt lead him to relapse: Happy sneaks alcohol mid-round to steady his nerves, but it backfires horribly. In a downward spiral reminiscent of his worst days, a drunken Happy botches the last round and plummets on the leaderboard, ultimately finishing in 6th place – just one spot short of qualifying for the team. It appears Happy’s comeback has failed at the final hurdle.

Fate intervenes with an unexpected twist. The young pro who actually won the Tour Championship, Billy Jenkins (Haley Joel Osment), shocks everyone by announcing that he’s defecting to Maxi Golf – he had secretly signed on with Manatee’s league all along. Jenkins’s sudden betrayal disqualifies him from Team PGA, which means the 5th-place slot opens up. As the next in line, Happy squeaks into the fifth spot on Team PGA by default. Despite his stumble, Happy Gilmore is officially headed to the big showdown against Maxi Golf. Rejuvenated by this second chance, Happy refocuses on preparing for the ultimate exhibition match. Crucially, he is no longer alone in this fight – an old adversary is about to become an unlikely ally.

Across town, Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), Happy’s arch-rival from 1996, has been languishing in a psychiatric facility for nearly 30 years after his ignominious defeat to Happy in the first film. Manatee sees Shooter as a useful weapon and arranges for Shooter’s release, attempting to recruit him as the captain of Team Maxi Golf. At first, Shooter relishes the chance to finally one-up Happy Gilmore. However, his enthusiasm fades when he discovers Manatee’s twisted methods.

Shooter learns that Maxi Golf’s top players have all undergone a grotesque surgery – severing their iliolumbar ligaments – to increase their range of motion and drive the ball farther (an unethical performance enhancement). This revelation horrifies Shooter. Disgusted by how far the sport has strayed from its integrity, he rejects Manatee’s offer and escapes the Maxi Golf camp before the exhibition match. In a poignant turn, Shooter and Happy cross paths at a cemetery, meeting appropriately at Virginia’s gravesite. The decades of hatred between them erupt in a brief, absurd brawl literally atop the graves of their loved ones and former foes (the scene even nods to the late Bob Barker and Chubbs Peterson, whose headstones make appearances).

But unlike their brawls of old, this fight ends with forgiveness. Both men, now older and humbled by life, find common ground in their love for golf and the memory of those they’ve lost. Happy and Shooter call a truce at Virginia’s grave, burying their rivalry at last. Shooter McGavin, once the ultimate heel, decides to help Happy save the game of golf from Manatee’s clutches.

United by necessity (and a newfound respect), Happy and Shooter form an unlikely team. With input from Shooter and Slim Peterson, Happy fine-tunes his game and strategy for the coming showdown. They recruit a “dream team” of traditional golfers to fill out the roster for Team PGA: real-life pros Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and Scottie Scheffler join Happy to represent the old guard. On the other side, Frank Manatee assembles Team Maxi Golf, led by the heavy-hitting turncoat Billy Jenkins and a crew of eccentric long-drive specialists with nicknames like “8-Ball” and “Flex.”

The stage is set for the ultimate exhibition match – a five-on-five faceoff that will determine which vision of golf will prevail. Traditional PGA Tour vs. Maxi Golf’s flashy circus – winner take all. The contest is held at a gaudy Maxi Golf course that resembles an amusement park on steroids: expect flaming hazards, loop-de-loop fairways, and absurd obstacles better suited to mini-golf than a major tournament.

When the competition begins, Team Maxi takes an early lead, exploiting their home-course advantage and outrageous power boosts. The event is structured as a series of head-to-head matchups. Early on, things go awry for Happy’s side – Scottie Scheffler loses his temper and punches a taunting Maxi opponent, getting himself disqualified in the first match. Another of Happy’s teammates, Brooks Koepka, is injured during a later round (one too many explosive course hazards). Despite these setbacks, Team PGA fights back.

Shooter McGavin, now firmly on Happy’s side, even steps in to substitute for Koepka after the injury, proving he’s still got some competitive fire and helping secure a much-needed win. The montage of matches is chaotic and comedic – Happy finds himself golfing in his signature Bruins hockey jersey and work boots again, smashing drives “into orbit” with his slapshot swing, while celebrity cameos and sports legends pepper the sidelines (commentator Stephen A. Smith, Jeopardy!’s Ken Jennings, and even golfer Jack Nicklaus appear in the crowd).

In one darkly funny moment, the son of Happy’s old heckler (played by rapper Eminem in disguise) continues the family tradition of shouting “Jackass!” during Happy’s backswing – only to get tackled and devoured by the same giant alligator that once terrorized Happy, silencing the heckler for good. Despite the carnival atmosphere, the competition remains tight. By the time four of the five matches are done, the score is tied 2–2. Everything boils down to the final showdown: Happy Gilmore vs. Billy Jenkins, one-on-one, for the championship.

Happy and Jenkins square off on the final hole in a scene rife with tension and callbacks to Happy’s original Tour Championship heroics. Jenkins, the brash young prodigy, can drive the ball nearly as far as Happy (thanks to Maxi’s dubious “ligament-snip” procedure), setting up a climactic putting contest between the two long drivers. Happy reaches the green in regulation and lines up a tricky putt for the win – echoing the decisive moment of the first film.

Determined not to lose, Frank Manatee resorts to cheating: using Maxi Golf’s high-tech course controls, he secretly alters the green’s surface, making it virtually impossible for Happy’s shot to roll true. Happy’s first attempt veers off wildly due to the sabotaged green, and it looks like the contest might end in a deadlock or controversy. Smugly confident, Manatee ups the stakes by offering Happy a devious wager: if Happy intentionally misses (or fails to make the putt) and concedes, he must join the Maxi Golf league and become Manatee’s asset – but if Happy somehow sinks the putt, then Manatee must fold the Maxi Golf league entirely.

Not only that, Manatee agrees to personally buy back Happy’s old house, pay Vienna’s full ballet school tuition, and even fund the opening of a new Italian restaurant for Happy’s loyal caddy Oscar as part of the deal. It’s a ridiculous, over-the-top bet – essentially replicating the kind of all-or-nothing gamble Happy made against Shooter years ago – and Happy cannot resist. With his family’s future on the line, Happy accepts the challenge. Oscar, his caddy, helps him study the now-treacherous green, and together they improvise a strategy. In true Happy Gilmore fashion, he drains the “impossible” putt against all odds, banking the ball off an obstacle (with a little hockey-style flair) and into the cup. Happy wins the match, clinching victory for Team PGA and vanquishing Manatee’s ambitions in one stroke.

The moment Happy’s final putt drops, the crowd erupts and the consequences of the bet come due. As promised, Team Maxi Golf is defeated and Frank Manatee is forced to shut down the entire Maxi Golf league. Traditional golf – with all its “boring” 18-hole integrity – triumphs over Manatee’s gimmicky vision, preserving the sport’s soul. Manatee, humiliated, must honor his word: he agrees to return Grandma Gilmore’s house to Happy and cover Vienna’s costly ballet education in Paris, ensuring Happy’s daughter will live her dream.

True to the offbeat terms, Manatee even bankrolls a brand new Italian restaurant for Oscar (no longer a busboy, Oscar will become a restaurateur thanks to Happy’s victory). In short, Happy Gilmore gets everything back – and then some. The villainous Manatee also faces further comeuppance: his flagship energy drink, Maxi Bolt, is exposed as causing serious side effects (all those jokes about his chronic halitosis were hints at a larger problem), and the product is pulled from the market, leaving Manatee financially ruined.

With the chaos of the tournament settling, Happy finds a measure of peace and redemption. In the aftermath, Happy celebrates a milestone of sobriety – he’s been dry for a few months and counting, proving he truly turned his life around. Even more satisfying, one of Happy’s oldest foes meets justice at last: Hal L. is finally exposed and arrested for his abusive schemes. It turns out that the helpful “fellow alcoholic” in Happy’s support group was actually an undercover FBI agent, gathering evidence against Hal’s fraudulent rehab operation.

(In a cheeky casting wink, this agent is played by Sadie Sandler – who gets to deliver a parting shot to Hal, telling Happy “you remind me of my dad” as Hal is led away in handcuffs.) With Hal taken down by federal agents (including a cameo by Kid Cudi as one of the arresting officers), Happy avenges the mistreatment of his grandma and closes that ugly chapter for good. Shooter McGavin also completes a full redemption arc – by standing with Happy when it counted, Shooter sheds his villain status and rekindles his love of the game, even earning back a bit of the respect he lost in 1996.

In the film’s heartfelt conclusion, Happy brings his family together at the airport to send off Vienna (and her brothers) to Paris to begin her ballet schooling. He has bought back Grandma’s old house, securing a home for his kids, and he reassures them that he’ll join them in France as soon as he fulfills one last promise to himself: Happy is going to play pro golf again. Indeed, with his confidence restored, Happy decides to continue his comeback on the golf course.

As his children depart overseas, Happy heads to the UK to compete in the British Open, proving that his story in golf isn’t over. (In a brief mid-credits epilogue, a news broadcast even reveals that both Happy and Shooter McGavin have entered the British Open, with Happy leading the field by two strokes in the early rounds – a sly hint that Happy’s second act in golf is off to a winning start.) With his family’s future secure and his love for the sport rekindled, Happy Gilmore truly comes full circle.

He has conquered grief, regained his fiery competitive spirit without the toxic anger, made peace with old enemies, and achieved the redemption he desperately sought. In the final shot, the once-“unhappy” Gilmore strolls off into the distance – a little older, a little wiser, but still swinging a golf club for all it’s worth – ready to “go to his Happy Place” once more on the greens.

2025 Happy Gilmore 2 Cast and Character Guide

Main Characters

Character	Actor	Instagram	Notes
Happy Gilmore	Adam Sandler	@adamsandler	Sandler reprises his hot‑tempered hockey‑swing golfer; the profile’s July 25 post even plugs the sequel.
Virginia Venit‑Gilmore	Julie Bowen	@itsjuliebowen	Bowen returns as Happy’s wife, whose on‑course accident launches the plot. Netflix’s cast list confirms her comeback.
Shooter McGavin	Christopher McDonald	@realchrismcdonald (verified)	The ’96 arch‑rival seeks redemption alongside Happy. Cast touted by Decider and Netflix.
Frank Manatee	Benny Safdie	@bowedtie	Safdie plays the tech‑bro villain funding “Maxi Golf.” TIME profiled his role.
Oscar (Happy’s new caddie)	Bad Bunny (Benito Ocasio)	@badbunnypr	The reggaetón megastar trades arenas for fairways; featured in Cosmopolitan’s cast roundup.
Hal L.	Ben Stiller	@benstiller	Stiller’s sadistic nursing‑home orderly now runs a shady rehab. Listed on IMDB.
Slim Peterson	Lavell Crawford	@lavellsthacomic	Chubbs’s son—with a new wooden hand—becomes Happy’s mentor; confirmed by Netflix guide.
Vienna Gilmore	Sunny Sandler	fan‑run updates only	Happy’s ballerina daughter; official IG not public.
Charlotte (FBI plant)	Sadie Sandler	fan‑run updates only	Appears in rehab scenes; Netflix lists her in the ensemble.

High‑Profile Cameos

Cameo Role	Performer	Instagram	Source Highlights
The Waiter (Oscar’s boss)	Travis Kelce	@killatrav	Daily Beast and SI broke down his honey‑bear gag cameo.
Himself (PGA icon)	Rory McIlroy	@rorymcilroy	Listed among the pro‑golfer cameos by SI & ESPN.
DJ “Omar Gosh”	Post Malone	@postmalone	Cast confirmed by Netflix Tudum cameo guide.
Agent Scott	Kid Cudi	@kidcudi	Appears during Hal’s arrest; noted in ESPN cameo rundown.
Starter / “Mayor of Flavortown”	Guy Fieri	@guyfieri	Fieri’s poolside IG antics teased his role; cameo listed by Cosmopolitan.
Heckler’s Son	Eminem	@eminem	Hindustan Times tallied his cameo fee.

Easter Eggs in Happy Gilmore 2 (2025)

Happy Gilmore 2 overflows with sly nods and winks to its 1996 predecessor and Adam Sandler’s comedy universe. Nearly 30 years later, the sequel is a nostalgia-packed “family affair,” even literally – Sandler’s real-life wife and daughters show up on screen. Sunny Sandler plays Happy’s daughter Vienna, whose ballet tuition spurs the whole plot, while Jackie Sandler appears as Vienna’s encouraging dance teacher.

Even Sadie Sandler, Adam’s elder daughter, has a cheeky role as an undercover member of Happy’s alcohol support group – at one point her character teasingly tells Happy, “You remind me of my dad,” a fourth-wall nod to their real relationship. In fact, all the Sandlers get in on the act: Sandler’s mother, mother-in-law, brother-in-law and more pop up in bit parts throughout the film, making the Gilmore saga a true family venture behind the jokes.

Longtime fans are rewarded with the return of an infamous foe from Happy Gilmore: Ben Stiller reprises his role as Hal L., the mustachioed nursing-home orderly who tormented Happy’s grandma in the original. Now Hal runs a shady rehab group called “Alkies for Life,” still up to his old abusive tricks. (Don’t worry – thanks to Sadie Sandler’s FBI plant, Hal finally gets the comeuppance he dodged in 1996.)

The sequel also wears its heart on its sleeve by honoring beloved characters whose actors have passed away. In one on-the-nose scene, Happy and Shooter McGavin literally brawl across a cemetery, pausing at the headstones of Bob Barker (who died in 2023), Chubbs Peterson (Carl Weathers, who passed in 2024), Happy’s Grandma (Frances Bay, died 2011) and others – an overt tribute to those late stars. As Shooter and Happy scuffle over Barker’s grave, Shooter even reenacts Happy’s famous fistfight with the late game-show host, sweetly mirroring the original film’s gag and paying homage to Barker’s iconic cameo.

Several departed characters are also “succeeded” by their next of kin: for example, Chubbs’ son “Slim” (played by comedian Lavell Crawford) appears with a prosthetic hand – having lost his, comically, to a vending machine – and becomes a supportive mentor to Happy just like his dad was. Likewise, former construction boss Mr. Larson’s role is filled by his even-bigger son Drago Larson, played by 7′4″ NBA alum Boban Marjanović, effectively channeling the late Richard Kiel’s intimidating gentle-giant presence.

Even the notorious heckler from the first movie – who distracted Happy by shouting “jackass!” – gets a successor: Eminem cameos in Happy Gilmore 2 as that heckler’s bearded son, gleefully picking up the mantle of taunting Happy with repeated “jackass” insults. This time, though, poetic justice is swift – Happy’s trusty alligators lunge out and drag Eminem’s heckler to a cartoonishly dark fate on the course, a punchline that had audiences howling.

The movie delights in reconnecting to Happy Gilmore’s roots. Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald return as Virginia (Happy’s beloved wife) and Shooter McGavin, respectively, and even a minor character like Kevin Nealon’s goofy golf partner Potter resurfaces. Nealon appears as Potter doing on-course commentary for the climactic tournament – still dispensing odd Zen advice about “sending the ball home” decades later.

Sandler’s longtime collaborators also pop up in force. The original Happy Gilmore director, Dennis Dugan, cameos again as Tour Commissioner Doug Thompson, presiding over the big championship just as he did in 1996. Sandler’s former SNL writer pal Robert Smigel even reprises his bit role from the first film: Smigel’s gruff IRS agent (last seen getting thrown through a window) returns in the sequel as a lawyer who helps Happy out of a legal jam. And in a final heartwarming touch, Happy Gilmore 2 recreates the original’s magical ending on a grand scale.

Just as Happy once saw a heavenly vision of Chubbs, the alligator, and Abraham Lincoln smiling down at him, the sequel’s finale shows Happy gazing skyward to see all his departed loved ones and friends cheering him on. This time the ghostly gallery includes Grandma, Mr. Larson, both “jackass” hecklers, Bob Barker, Chubbs, even Virginia herself – Happy’s late wife – who gently reassures him, “Oh, you’re okay,” from above. It’s an unabashedly sentimental callback that leaves fans grinning through the tears.

Of course, Happy Gilmore 2 doesn’t just look back – it packs in a dizzying array of fresh celebrity cameos and meta gags. The film is chock-full of famous faces, often playing themselves for laughs. Sports stars lead the charge. NFL All-Pro Travis Kelce appears in one scene as an overly showy waiter at the “Tour Champions” dinner, hilariously sucking up to the golf pros. (In one surreal dream sequence – Happy’s new “happy place” – Kelce even turns up tied to a post, smeared with honey and getting mauled by a bear, a bizarre visual that had audiences cracking up.)

The golf world is heavily represented too: no fewer than 19 real-life professional golfers make cameos. Legends Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino (who gets in a sly “Grizzly Adams did have a beard” reference), Fred Couples, Nancy Lopez, and others show up as themselves at a champions dinner. Meanwhile, current PGA and LPGA stars like Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Nelly Korda – and many more – appear as competitors in the climactic tournament.

One particularly clever golf Easter egg: Will Zalatoris, a young PGA pro, is revealed to be the grown-up version of Happy’s original hapless caddie – having changed his name since 1996. (Actor Jared Van Snellenberg, who played the boy caddie in the first film, left acting long ago, so Zalatoris steps in as this tongue-in-cheek “where are they now” gag.)

Sports media personalities get in on the fun too. ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith and veteran sportscaster Dan Patrick both play themselves delivering over-the-top commentary on Happy’s comeback run. And in a brilliant bit of trivia humor, Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings makes a cameo reading a quiz-show clue about Happy – only for all the contestants to cluelessly botch his name (“Happy Gudenstein?!”). It’s a quick meta-joke that nods to Happy’s outrageous legacy in pop culture while poking fun at how time has passed.

Music and Hollywood stars also flood into Happy’s world. Global pop icon Bad Bunny plays Happy’s new caddie, an excitable young man named Oscar who becomes an integral sidekick rather than a mere cameo. (Bad Bunny even gets fired by Travis Kelce’s snooty waiter in one scene, only to reappear heroically in Happy’s hallucinated “happy place” sequence.) Rapper/actor Kid Cudi (credited under his real name Scott Mescudi) shows up in the finale as an FBI agent – aptly named “Agent Scott” – who helps bust Ben Stiller’s Hal during the climactic sting operation. Meanwhile, chart-topping rapper Post Malone goes full country: he cameos as a flamboyant golf DJ called “Omar Gosh,” complete with cowboy hat, joining veteran announcer Verne Lundquist in calling the wild new Maxi Golf tournament.

And the cameos don’t stop there. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri struts in as the loudmouthed starter at the Maxi Tour challenge, while influencer Alix Earle and Hot Ones host Sean Evans both play themselves interviewing the villainous Frank Manatee (Benny Safdie) during his media tour. Even Sandler’s old SNL buddies have blink-and-miss-it roles: cross-eyed comic Jonathan Loughran returns as an asylum orderly, Nick Swardson pops up as a hapless bystander named Ben, and Jon Lovitz (credited humorously as “Dapper Man”) suffers at the driving range when Happy’s powerful shots keep obliterating his golf balls. The cameo roster is so enormous – 48 celebrities in all – that watching the film becomes a game of “spot the star”, adding an extra layer of fun for fans.

Amid all this, Happy Gilmore 2 still finds time to tip its cap to the wider Adam Sandler comedy-verse. One triumphant moment has Sandler’s old pal Rob Schneider pedal onscreen on a bicycle just to belt out his famous rallying cry, “You can do it!” – a recurring catchphrase Schneider has planted in Sandler films from The Waterboy to Little Nicky. Another deep-cut nod comes via character actor Blake Clark, known to Sandler fans as the incomprehensible Farmer Fran from The Waterboy.

Clark appears on a beach during Happy’s training montage, playing an overly enthusiastic old-timer (complete with nipple piercings) who tries – and mostly fails – to help Happy improve his swing. This goofy cameo mirrors Clark’s Waterboy persona and even reignites the “nipple-pinching” gag that became a meme among Sandler aficionados. The film also playfully acknowledges Sandler’s real-world career: early on, we learn that in the years after his first Tour win, Happy Gilmore actually hosted Saturday Night Live – exactly as Sandler himself did in the ’90s. (The movie even cuts to faux archival clips of Happy on SNL, a meta touch merging the character with the actor’s own history.)

In short, Happy Gilmore 2 turns the nostalgia up to 11, weaving in everything from classic one-liners and cameos to winking meta-jokes. Whether it’s Virginia Venit’s ghost whispering “you’re okay,” or Schneider shouting “you can do it,” every scene brims with Easter eggs that reward eagle-eyed fans – confirming that nearly three decades later, Happy Gilmore is still in his happy place.

Sources: Entertainment Weekly; BollywoodShaadis; Hindustan Times; TIME Magazine; Harper’s Bazaar.