Rating: C
After reviewing a fantastic film last week, my standards had been set fairly high. So when my boyfriend told me with glee this movie was “crack up” I nestled down with an early Easter egg and considered this “sports comedy” as I consider French snails, cave diving and vajazzle-ing: you don’t know if you’ve never tried it.
Unfortunately this whacky flick turned out to be a big fat bowl of salad: tasteless, stringy, and an effort to force down. Unlike salad, this did not feel very healthy to watch. Adam Sandler plays the role he plays in every other Adam Sandler film, with the name change of Happy Gilmore, a rejected hockey player putting his powerful slap shot to use in a golf tour. Gilmore’s aim is to win about $270,000 to save his Grandmother who has failed to pay her taxes and risks losing her house.
I admit there were some sweet sides to the plot, such as the Grandmother and the love interest, but these were overshadowed by basic one liners and underwhelming slapstick. Some gags did tickle me at times, but no amount of wooden hands or Ben Stiller cameos could save this dry script (not that Ben Stiller could ever save a script). It was halfway through the film when my boyfriend admitted to me he last watched this when he was in year 7. Enough said. At times, Sandler’s sensitive side charmed me, and I suppose that’s how he got any traction within the film and comedy industry.
All in all, a basic plot, a lovable oaf and a storyline that plays out as long as a game of real golf. Would recommend for a hangover day when the gang is having a yarn and you want something on in the background to laugh weakly at now and then.