Happy Gilmore

[00:00:01] One failed hockey career, one unlikely golf superstar, one movie that gave us unforgettable quotes, legendary rivals, and one of the most surprising celebrity cameos of the 90s. This week, we're tapping in to Happy Gilmore.

[00:00:30] Welcome to the No More Late Fees podcast. I'm Danielle. And I'm Jackie. And we're just two best friends and ex-blockbuster employees re-watching some of the best and worst movies from the late 90s and early 2000s. This week, we're revisiting the 1996 quotable sports comedy classic, Happy Gilmore. But before we dive in, let's get into some housekeeping. It's not a scary movie.

[00:00:59] It was because I listened to Duhas on repeat before the show. Ready to dive into an exclusive cinematic experience? Gain access to movie-themed content, stickers, live events, and our hand-picked Spotify playlist by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com slash nomorelatefees. Become our movie-loving bestie today.

[00:01:26] And Mark's back in the clue post. Welcome back, Mark. Hello. Hello.

[00:01:45] And if you want to get to know Mark better, check out his previous episodes on Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Euro Trip, and Friday, as well as this week's bonus episode where we pick our sports montage soundtracks. Yes. Okay, Danielle. You ready for Happy Gilmore? I'm locked in.

[00:02:06] So, after his dream of playing professional hockey comes to an end, Happy Gilmore discovers he has an incredible golf swing that sends balls soaring further than anyone expects. When his grandmother's house is threatened with foreclosure, Happy joins the pro golf tour where his rough-around-the-edges style puts him on a collision course with polished champion Shooter McGavin.

[00:02:29] Along the way, Happy proves that sometimes the most unlikely competitor can change the rules without changing who they are. It stars Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Carl Weathers, Julie Bowen, and Francis Bang. It was written by Adam Sandler and Tim Hurley, directed by Dennis Dugan, and you can currently watch it on Starz. It is also available to rent on Prime. Where did y'all watch it? On your movies anywhere. Perfect.

[00:03:00] Mark? I believe Prime, yeah. Okay, cool. But before we start, let's get into our ratings rewind. So, you know the drill before we get into the movie. We'll reveal the rating our Y2K versions of ourselves would give. Then at the end, we'll see if our current selves agree with our initial rating. Our scale consists of would buy it, would buy it again. The best would play on repeat. Five-day rental. One watch again. Two-day rental.

[00:03:30] Okay, but nothing to write home about. And same-day rental. Send it into the... I have nothing. Trash. Straight up trash. Worse than the alligator's belly. Yeah, I was like, what is a golf term? And then nothing. All right, Mark, we'll start with you. What's your Y2K version of Happy Gilmer?

[00:03:56] I would say probably would watch it again. Would buy? Jackie? Yeah. Same. Owned it. Watched it a ton. Danielle? I never seen it. And I was like, okay, maybe it's one of those things where I'm like, I can't remember. And as soon as the plot will start coming. Never laid an eye on this film.

[00:04:24] We have a happy Gilmore virgin amongst us. Not anymore. I popped that chair. Now that I've rewatched it. But yes, I never saw it. Well, tell us about the box office before we get your opinions. Because I know there's a lot. The movie came out February 16th, 1996. It had a budget of $12 million and made $38 million.

[00:04:51] And it came in number two at the weekend box office with Broken Arrow coming in at number one. Muppet Treasure Island at number three. City Hall at number four. And Mr. Holland's Opus at number five. That's probably what I went to go see. Yes. Because I love a tearjerker. What is City Hall? Don't know. Don't care. I'm sure it's whack as hell.

[00:05:15] About 94% of its worldwide earnings came from North America, making it one of Adam Sandler's earliest domestic hits. The film remained in theaters for several weeks thanks to steady audience turnout and later became a staple on home video and cable television, helping to grow its reputation. The critics. Let's see what they have to say. Let's start with Entertainment Weekly. We've got Owen Gleiberman.

[00:05:42] He gave the film a grade D+, calling it an A1 joke caddyshack for the blitzed and jaded. Damn. Although he did praise Sandler's confident performance. Damn. Lil' Raj. And I will say, for the million time, Lil' Raj gave Baps zero stars. Zero stars. But he gave this film 1.5 out of 4.

[00:06:10] He liked the idea of putting an aggressive hockey player into the refined world of golf, but he felt the movie relied too much on Happy's temper and not enough on fresh jokes. He singled out a few standout scenes, especially the Bob Barker fight, while also criticizing the film's heavy use of product placement. All right. Well, before we get into cast and crew, let's hear a message from our pod pal.

[00:06:44] Welcome to The Busy Signal. My name is Jim, and I'm the host of this Retrostologic 80s, 90s, and early 2000s podcast. Each episode covers something from back in the day that we all took for granted. Things that are now extinct or quickly going that way. Things like pay phones, snacks, old school tech, sodas, experiences, video games, and even the toys that tried to kill you as a kid. All this and loads more. New episodes drop every other Friday.

[00:07:13] So subscribe and tune into The Busy Signal podcast for some super rad retro fun. And don't forget to reach out and touch the past. All right. Cast and crew. Well, Bob Barker wasn't sure if he wanted to be in this movie. And it was only after he asked if he was going to win the fight with Adam Sandler, he agreed.

[00:07:44] Yeah. Bob Barker. That's, I don't even know. I like to just remember how I knew of him. The more information that comes out about him makes me think, oh, God. But him wanting to win the fight. It would be the exact same way. Sometimes it's like, why do I have to see that stuff? Yeah.

[00:08:05] But, I mean, am I surprised a boomer or silent generation white man ended up being horrible? No. No. Not surprised. Crazy because it's almost like, how did, like, when somebody blatantly points it out, it's like, oh, okay. How did I miss that? Yeah. Like, if there's so much in between that you don't pay attention to, I guess, some of that stuff. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, so much stuff we would have never seen.

[00:08:34] Like, a lot of the stuff that's come out about him, it's just, like, people behind the scenes and stuff. Like, you know? So. The production originally considered using professional golfers for larger roles before casting actors. Which is interesting. Yeah. Well, because in Happy Gilmore 2, they do use professional golfers. I think the difference is, I'll be honest, I feel like golf has, it feels more accessible now. Yes.

[00:09:02] So having big golf pros would have appealed to the masses now than back then. Because we have Golf Channel now. We have so many ways to watch it. And I just don't feel like everyone was on the uptake back then. Like, that's just my personal opinion. So I think, besides Arnold Palmer, which big golfer back then would have, like, been? Yeah. I know who that is.

[00:09:32] Was tennis, like, big in the 90s, I guess, at the time? Yeah. Like, Andre Agassi. I had Andre Agassi sneakers. And you notice, girl, don't watch no sports. But I knew who he was. How'd you get there? Girl, I don't even know. I, you know, I don't really love sneakers. And my mom, I needed them. So my mom got them and found out they were Andre Agassi. So I thought it was like a flex. I didn't have Jordans. I was like, I have Andre Agassi shoes.

[00:10:03] What a dork. Oh, man. I love that you remember that you had the Andre Agassis. There's, there's a creator on TikTok. She takes care of her grandmother and her special needs uncle. And she takes them. They call it Centro Time. Because they're, they're Latin, Latino. And when she's getting her grandma ready, she's like, do you want the hallelujah eights or the Jesus Christ twelves?

[00:10:30] So I'm like, you want the Andre Agassi fives? I thought I was doing something. This, this must've been around the time that mom put me in basketball camp because she thought I was tall. I wasn't. She thought she was going to make you sporty. Yeah. I was not sporty spice. I was posh or baby spice at max. Well, back to the cast and crew.

[00:11:00] Obviously, Adam Sandler wrote it. It was written specifically with him in mind to play Happy. And Christopher McDonald initially turned down the role of shooter twice, prompting producers to have both Kevin Costner and Bruce Campbell read for the part. Bruce Campbell would have been fun. Kevin Costner would have been fun only because it's just like, we don't really ever see him in his comedy bag. But I just feel like he and Adam Sandler on set would not have gotten along.

[00:11:30] Yeah. There would have been some tension. Yeah. But Bruce Campbell would have been perfect. But I think this is Christopher McDonald's role. Absolutely. And he's continued it since Happy Go More originally came out. He will show up to like charity events as shooter and even some golf events. He showed up in character as shooter McGavin. So he really embraced the role. He didn't want to take it at first because he was pigeonholed as a villain. Like the jerk.

[00:11:59] But once he read the script and saw like how fun it would be to be this particular villain, he decided to change his mind, which was really cool. And I think it served him well. And he did a great job as shooter. So I know you guys think I have like a ton of thoughts and I'm going to dump on this movie. And I'm not actually. I was pleasantly surprised how little I hated this movie.

[00:12:30] Considering how much I loved Billy Madison growing up. And then when we rewatched it, I was like, oh, this is a hard swallow. This wasn't really bad. I felt like his acting was not bad in this one. He toned down a lot of the just like. Silly voices and stuff. Yeah. Like he embodied the character. He was very sweet with his grandma. I'm a sucker because I love my Nana.

[00:13:00] So anytime I see a movie with a grandma, I'm good. But also I thought him and Julie Bowen had really good chemistry. And then I don't think he like over-sexualized her to the extent that we saw maybe the earlier films. Yeah. And she felt like a real character and wasn't just there for him. So I was excited about that. There was a little bit of a magical Negro trope in there.

[00:13:29] But all in all, he was vulnerable and he didn't, he wasn't like a one note situation. Like, yes, he had the angry part, but I felt like the softer parts were really good too. Yeah. And they gave him a backstory and they actually bring him back. They bring Chubbs back in heaven in little Nikki. Like he's hanging out in little Nikki in heaven.

[00:13:56] That wooden hand killed me. When it hits the parking lot pavement. I just love how like Happy goes to shake his hand after he's glued it back together and it just crumbles again. And he's just like, sorry. When he's on the phone and you just see, I was like, what the hell's going on with his hand? It's got like white parts cut down. He's trying to glue it back in.

[00:14:25] I was just like, what is going on? And what I, what I didn't understand is like, he really just tried to help Happy without wanting anything. Like he didn't say, Hey, I want to be your coat. Nothing. It was just like, let me help you. Which I thought, okay. Yeah. Nice. But weird. So like our other sports movies and like action movies, a lot of this is just playing golf.

[00:14:53] And it's not a very long movie to begin with. I turned it on. I was like, Oh, hour and a half, 90 minutes. Sold. So we meet Happy. He is brought up in a hockey family. He accidentally kills his father by hitting him in the head with a hockey puck. So a little bit of bad luck. Yeah.

[00:15:19] Which if you spoiler alert, if you watch the second one, his wife dies similarly, doesn't she? Mark, did you watch two? I turned it on, but I did not finish it. No. Mark was not locked in. Well, with two tiny children. Makes sense. Yeah. Yes.

[00:15:45] That that's pretty dark, but he then goes with grandma. Yep. And he hits, he hits her in the head with a golf ball. And kills her. Yeah. But yes. So he, he, and he just wants to make the team, the hockey team. And he plays out every year. And his anger gets the best of him. It's really like, he has the skills. He definitely has a slap shot. He has the shot, but he can't skate.

[00:16:15] Like, boy. That's true. Work on your skills. Like, I don't understand. He was so delusional. But if you recall in Mighty Ducks 2, Benny, not Benny Mendoza, whatever his name is from Miami can't skate. And they're picked for the national team somehow. Let me just stop. He couldn't stop. And it was just a skill that could be worked on, but he could skate so fast. It was worth investing.

[00:16:46] So you see how they all have skills that were worth investing. And guess what? They were children. And somehow still making the national team not having these skills. Grown man who has been told multiple times, like, and that, that, that's fine. Like, they were able, it was a skill that Coach Bombay could have worked on. And he did. So that was fine.

[00:17:10] But like, this man, the, the core, the core skill of ice hockey is ice skating. Like, he could never be in cutting edge because he can't skate. The bad part was there's home video of him as a child playing hockey. And so he made it his whole entire adult life and still can't skate. Right.

[00:17:38] I think that's what I'm like, what's my click it, Linda? Like, you can't skate. This is what happens when parents aren't honest to their children about their skill set. Because you know, grandma was just out there like, you're the best happy. You'll make the team next year. With her mask on from kids. Yes. Oh my God. So yeah, we see he lives at grandma's house.

[00:18:07] He, he has yet again failed to make the hockey team. And then. But he also talks about all the jobs that he's had. Right. So like, not only is he, he's so delusional about playing hockey. That he keeps fucking up all these jobs he has because truly he thinks he's just going to be able to make it in hockey eventually. It's just to, it's just to earn a check right now. Because he won't need it in a few months when he meets the hockey team.

[00:18:38] He works in construction. He works. What else did he do? I think it's just like different construction jobs. But again, his anger gets the best of him and then he's fired because he can't. Well, he wasn't even angry. He was just shooting a nail gun at beer cans for fun and shot his boss, who, by the way, had a hard hat on and still got hit in the head. And how did he take the hat off? We suspend belief.

[00:19:07] I know. We got a, we got a message that says that we just need to suspend belief about these movies. Yes. Suspend belief. Sit on edge until. Well, his, you know, he's lucky because, you know, in a previous profession, that man was fighting James Bond. So, happy was lucky that the man took a shine to him.

[00:19:36] What I loved about his montage of all of his work, previous experiences, they're all of him. The humping. Yes. It was like a traffic code. A gas hose. He did. Yeah. So he did all of that stuff. But. Well, grandma's. He goes to grandma's house. Which I was, the whole time I was like, grandma, call a lawyer. Lawyer up.

[00:20:04] There's a way to do this. You can get help besides happy trying to get all the money because grandma didn't pay her taxes. No. She didn't. Over $200,000 worth. It was like $250,000. Yeah. $275,000. It was a lot. And essentially what they're told is like, you just have to pay these back taxes. Yeah. And so happy is like, I have to earn because happy loves his grandma.

[00:20:34] As he should. Yeah. No fault in that. So he's like, we're going to get your house back. And then who sees him making slapshots? Who makes the connection that he can bring them off? The movers. So the movers are there because some, the auditor, whoever was sent to like take grandma stuff.

[00:20:57] So he used to put grandma in a home, but the movers are like, they find his grandpa's golf clubs. And so the movers are like making bets on how far they can get something. And happy finds them. He's like, you know, he makes a bet with them. So he's like, yeah, I can hit this. And he hits the house like all the way down the street. And so they keep betting to see if he'll hit it farther.

[00:21:23] And that's when the movers are like, you know, you, there's like, you can go play the tournament that's coming up. That was local. And so he realizes he can make some money and he's like, oh, okay, I'm going to go play this tournament or whatever. So that's how the juices get flowing. And then he, he catches the eye of Chubbs.

[00:21:48] Who is like, yeah, you got the power, but you don't know how to putt. And so we need to work on that. And then also your anger. My favorite part is as happy starts winning tournaments. And like, once you win one, you qualify for like other tournaments and they just show him filling up his trunk with those giant checks. Right.

[00:22:18] Cause those aren't real checks. No. They're just to be used. I have a giant check in my closet right now. Yeah. So happy is starting to get noticed and kind of move up in a tournament aspect.

[00:22:35] And so then he kind of catches the eye and the ire of shooter McGavin, who becomes his nemesis because shooter is been the top of the game in this circuit for a while. And so shooter is not, it's not beneath him to play dirty. And so he kind of starts setting things in motion to sabotage him.

[00:23:00] My favorite is the ya jackass guy that just keeps showing up at every tournament and like heckling happy, but it seems to fuel happy, not distract him. All I kept thinking, this guy, this actor has been in a million things, but he is the forever, the dad in freaks and geeks for me. Oh. My son was like, oh. What happens next? Cause we kind of get a montage of just winning tournaments.

[00:23:28] Well, we, at some point we meet Julie Bowen's character. She does PR for the tournament. And so immediately they want to get rid of happy for everything that he does. He is the antithesis of like what golf is essentially.

[00:23:52] I do like that one of the announcers like says at one point because he's drawing these very, they said economically diverse crowds. And I was like, that is the shadiest shit I've ever heard. But yes, you look at the crowd and it is very economically diverse than what you would normally see at a golf tournament. And I love the first tournament they provide the caddy.

[00:24:20] And it's like this like little albino child. And happy is like. That's what I think. Well, he's not albino. But he's a very bright white. Yes. Boy with bleach blonde hair. That is pace if I've ever seen it. And happy is like, what the fuck are you doing with my grandpa's clubs? And they're like. Shows them and he rolls down. I was like, oh, is he going to be with him the whole time? And he's like, no, he's not there.

[00:24:49] And then he gets a quote unquote house man to be his. We don't really hear any words. It's the guy, the lead from Grandma's Boy, the actor who plays in that movie, right? Yeah. Yeah. Longtime collaborator who plays his caddy. Who's washing his undies in the ball washer at one point. And then we forgot to mention that Grandma moves into an assisted living facility.

[00:25:17] We never get a really good comeuppance for Ben Stiller's character who is literally running a quilt sweatshop with these old ladies. He is the worst. And it's like he's playing these parts throughout this time frame. Just to make me mad. I was like, oh, I'm sure Jackie is pissed because she likes this movie.

[00:25:45] But this man, this man, he's coming up. And I think that's why I have such disdain for Ben Stiller. Because he's taunting children at a fat camp. He's screaming at Ross on Friends. And now he's telling old people they have to like make quilts. And then he like, yeah, it's just not a great look, Ben Stiller. No.

[00:26:14] And then, yeah, he's literally the worst. I don't know why I forgot about the part where Happy's trying to like turn on the AC for Grandma. And the AC unit falls out of the window. And he's like, I think I killed the Mista Mista. First and foremost, can we talk about Happy Gilmore being a serial killer? Oh, he has killed more than two people. Yes. That is true, yeah.

[00:26:44] He's killed his father. He killed the lady with the AC. He killed what's the... Chubbs by proxy. Chubbs. Chubbs. Chubbs. And now you're telling me in the second movie, he killed his wife. Yes. That's four. And then the Mista Mista lady. I said that lady. Okay. The air conditioning? Yeah. He hits her twice with the car, I believe, right? Yes. Well, because... No, I think it's more she jumps on the car because she wants to escape. She's like, get me out of here.

[00:27:15] He throws the bag of food on her. Get out of here. So, yeah. Poor Grandma is now stuck in this house of horrors. And Happy is unaware. Happy would have burned that place to the ground if he knew. Don't you think it was such a miss to not have him face off with Ben Stiller's character,

[00:27:44] knowing how he is about his grandma? So, apparently, there was a deleted scene where Happy throws him off of a balcony, liberating the oppressed seniors. To what? Kill another victim, making it five pieces. Is this a horror movie? And we've just not... Oh, Danielle, we should cut this movie as a horror movie. Ooh. Happy Gilmore is a serial killer.

[00:28:14] He is. He kills the alligator, too. He cuts off the head. Yes. It's pretty morbid. In order to kill Chubbs. Yeah. Yeah. This was an accident, though. But still, by proxy... Girl, when you put it separately, it's an accident. But when you put the pieces of the chain together, was it? Oh, no. Maybe Chubbs just knew too much. This is our clip now.

[00:28:44] He's just... Is he a serial killer? Well, before Chubbs meets his untimely demise, he teaches Happy how to putt by taking him to putt-putt golf. And Happy is learning to harness his power. Chubbs has his club modified to put a hockey stick bottom on it. And I was wondering, is that okay within regulations?

[00:29:14] No. Because a hockey stick is, like, so much more space, right? Like, to work with. I would say no. But professional golf players have done the Happy Slap Shot since. And it's been ruled a legal move. A. Legal, not illegal. A. Yeah, a... It's legal. You can do it. Oh, okay. Yeah.

[00:29:42] Like a running start before you hit the ball? Yeah. Mm. And people started doing that after Happy Gilmer? Yeah. And a lot of professional golfers warm up by doing that now. How much of this movie is, like, ingrained in golf culture now? Yeah? So much. I think this movie, just, like, one of my favorite things to watch on TikTok are golf cart girls.

[00:30:09] So you don't see the people they're talking to, but you see them, like, making money and they make drinks and, like, what their life, a day in the life. And I was like, oh, just that kind of character would have been so much fun to see in this movie. Like, just a foul-mouthed woman going around. Yeah. Getting the drinks. What happens next? Is it the... Well, so, what's the PR girl's name again? I forget. Virginia Vennett.

[00:30:38] Because they're all VVs. Oh, doubles. Okay. Yeah. Well, Virginia, after she says, you know, let's keep happy because he's going to bring in revenue and bring in views. And he does. He... They have a, like, a celebrity charity situation happen. Well, actually, before that happens, she goes and she talks to Happy and says, look, I need you to get your shit together.

[00:31:04] I need you to not cuss and watch your anger. This was all before Chubbs, like, took him to work on his putt. Like, he's like, okay, I'm going to really try. Because he tells her eventually, like, what his situation is with his grandma. And he's obviously hitting on her as well. So they keep him on the tournament. But when he has this run-in with Bob Barker, they're supposed to be playing together.

[00:31:32] And this is when the guy, that shooter, he hires this guy to constantly, like, just be screaming while he's trying to hit the ball. So, I don't know what you call it, but you know what I mean. Yeah. And so that's fucking up his game. And it's making Bob Barker want to fuck him up. So it's not good. It's not going well.

[00:31:56] And then he gets so angry trying to repress his feelings for this, like, bystander who's making all the noise. That he literally gets in a physical altercation, which is, like, I can imagine watching this in the 90s it being so iconic. Yes. Because the way that our, especially our generation watching Bob Barker, we just saw him as, like, the sweet old man who would rub up on women on Price is Right. So to see him have, like, he looked like he didn't need a stunt double.

[00:32:26] He was really boxing the shit out of Samuels. Oh, he was. So he, where is it? First off, that scene was originally written much shorter because it was just supposed to be, like, a little cameo. Mm-hmm. But it was expanded during production. And when Dennis Dugan, the director, told Bob Barker that a stunt double would be used in the fight scene, Bob insisted on doing his own stunt saying, wait a minute, I know how to fight.

[00:32:56] Exactly. Was Bob in the army? I feel like he was in a war. Probably. Probably. So he's, they're duking it out on national television. So this gets Happy suspended for a few games, which makes Shooter pretty mad because he was hoping it would get him kicked off the circuit completely. Mm-hmm. And so now he's, like, really upset. He's talking to Virginia because he's like, look, I don't have time. Like, I have to get this money.

[00:33:25] And she realizes that there's opportunities for some sponsorships. So he gets a Subway sponsorship. Pre-Jarred Subway sponsorship. Which is, it comes full circle because when the second movie came out, they did, I think, an integration with Subway again. So a couple of things. Bob Barker was, he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a World War II naval aviator and fighter pilot.

[00:33:54] He's got that dog in him. Yeah. He got babies in other countries. That dude. Yeah. And second, do you, when we, when I watched this scene, I was like, honey, do you remember when Subway used to cut the V in the bread instead of slicing it down the middle? And you can see that in, like, the scene where he's holding the sub. It's like that V cut and they used to, like, tuck everything in. I don't remember that. Yeah.

[00:34:23] So I was like, it came screaming back to me. The way it was. So he was able to get the sponsorship to get the money. And the mistake he made was that he, when he's trying to plead his case before getting suspended, that he has to buy his grandma's house.

[00:34:45] This gives Shooter everything he needs, that there's a live auction and Shooter buys grandma's house because he's like, you can have the house back if you quit. And he rebuttal, his rebuttal is that, okay, I will, I will quit if you win the tournament. If you, if you lose the tournament, I get the house back. Which, I don't know. I guess it was a good bet. So Shooter agrees.

[00:35:15] Because the grandma does say to him, because at one point Virginia's like, you know, your grandma cares about you being happy and having a, you know, a good career or whatever. Not necessarily just about the house. And the grandma eventually does say that. And so grandma's like, you could do whatever. I just want you to be happy. So he decides he's going to go for it though, because he wants to be Shooter besides just getting the house back. Yeah.

[00:35:43] One thing we did miss was that before Chubb's timely, untimely demise, he teaches happy about finding his happy place. Can we talk about the happy place? Now, Virginia in 90s lingerie with two pictures of beer, fine.

[00:36:07] And it's just such a weird thing to see like your fantasy lady in lingerie and then you turn to the left and grandma's there. I'm like, yeah. Interesting. And Ken kept saying, he's like, oh, like this is making me uncomfortable. She's so much older than him. And I'm like, I don't think Julie Bowen is. She just looks very mid-19. Yes. I don't, I think they're probably, she's probably one of the most age appropriate. She's four years younger than him.

[00:36:37] And he's like, he looks like a teenager and she looks like a middle-aged woman. I'm like, that's just. The 90s. What happened? Yeah. Wasn't great for some people. Grandmas with the slots, slot machines. Yes. Coins. And then right around this time, Happy takes Virginia on a date to the ice hockey ring.

[00:37:01] And there's just like a man on a Zamboni and like Endless Love is playing. And it's hilarious. When he, when they show him later, the man on the Zamboni, Zamboni, what is it? Zamboni. Zamboni. And he's singing Endless Love, just like mouthing it to himself. I was dead. Like, I think that was the part of the movie that made me laugh.

[00:37:28] I was hoping, like, I'm like, I know Danielle at least laughed out loud. Two or three times during this movie. What is happening? Yeah. And I like, again, that in this scene, they're joking, they're flirty. And it's, it does not make me cringe in the slightest. Yes. It does not give rapey vibes. Exactly. Yeah. So, yeah. I think he had one of the best chemistry out of all the ladies that he's been in movies with.

[00:37:56] I think she's up there and should have done more movies with her. Well, then she married Phil Dunphy, which is very happy adjacent. So, yeah, they're at this, the, the, the skating rink, the ice skating rink. And yeah, that whole thing was sweet. And so like, without saying it, she'd be literally becomes his lady after that.

[00:38:21] So we see a montage of the different tournaments and Happy's doing really well. And he's become like a television, television sensation, huge crowds of people. Like you said, the, the economically diverse. Crowd. Crowd. And it's like his, his boss with the nail in his head is there cheering him on and shit. Who is that guy? Was he like a wrestler or something?

[00:38:49] No, he's an actor, but he played a Bond villain, Jaws. This is all very, like, I just. Nick Coden. I only know because we happen to have a conversation about him with the other person I know who's very into Bond movies very recently. Oh. And I was like, oh yeah, that's, that's the Happy Gilmore guy. Mark, have you seen him in other movies besides this in Bond? I don't think. Like he looks familiar. I just couldn't think.

[00:39:18] Yeah. I'm sure there is something, but from maybe just like a quick scene, nothing where he, this is probably the longest I saw him in anything. Yeah. I have seen him in something else. And I mean, he's ride or die for Happy. He really is. There ain't no way you shoot me with a nail gun in my head. And I'm being this supportive. It's still in there too, isn't it? Yeah.

[00:39:43] By the second, like the second game that he comes to, it's gone. And he talks about like that he had to, his procedure was coming up. So, and he has like a shirt, like full on Stan situation. And maybe as big as that guy is, he's actually just scared because Happy is a serial killer. Oh, that's true too. Yeah.

[00:40:08] He actually, what was happening was that, and why he scares Happy is because it was one of his marks that he was going to kill and he was able to not die. Look at you. It's all coming together. Putting the, Nancy, Nancy drew in the shit out of this. I'm trying to look and see if there's anything else. Inspector Gadget, he played famous big guy with silver teeth.

[00:40:39] Okay. And he was the voice of Vlad in Tangled. Interesting. And unfortunately he passed away in 2014. What's his name? Richard Kiel. Yeah, that would be nice. He's seven feet, two inches tall. Oh my goodness. RIP Richard. Okay, Mark, what else? What else happened? Help us land this plane. I know.

[00:41:08] I remember at one point he loses his powers, right? He, his, his, his long ball, he loses it. And that's, that's the big problem right at the last, the last showdown with Shooter McGavin. Yeah. The, oh, the crazy jackass guy drives his car and hits Happy with it. Wow. Right? He's been hit by, he's been hit by a couple of them before is what I thought. And at the same time he knocks that TV tower over.

[00:41:39] And that becomes a big plot point towards the end. An obstacle. Yeah. Because Shooter had hit his ball on the big guy's foot and was told he had to shoot, you know. Play where it lays. Right. So he's like, I don't care if there's this massive structure in the way. Yeah. He had to hit it off of Frankenstein's fat foot. Which I feel like Christopher McDonald is not a small guy. No.

[00:42:08] And so, and standing next to Richard Keel, it's just like still so dominating over him. It's wild. Yeah. Yeah. So. So. Happy gets hit by the Volkswagen, but that's early on in that game. Yeah. And so he, like Mark said, loses his slap shot. So his, it's tanking his score. And then he's, the anger starts to build.

[00:42:36] And then he's just like in the weeds and just hacking at the ball. And they finally get to the final home and Shooter has to hit the ball off of the big guy's foot. And then his ball is amongst all of that debris from the TV tower. And he just, he had to go back. He had to go back to his happy place, which at first Scooter, Shooter infiltrated.

[00:43:04] And was making out not only with Vanessa. It's not Vanessa. Virginia. Virginia. He's also making out with grandma and then making out with grandma wearing the kiss mask. My question is why in both, all of his happy places, is there a little person riding a bicycle and then a horse stick?

[00:43:27] Like, but you know, well, the riding the bull was like one of his like go-to maneuvers. But he's usually riding a golf club when he does it. Right. The little person, I think there was just an infatuation with having little people in 90s movies. Just thinking it's a joke. Yeah. Which, okay. So yeah, now he has a bad place, not a happy place. Yeah.

[00:43:55] And so he has to shake it off and refocus. And then he channels Chubbs. Yeah. And Chubbs is, oh, we forgot to say how Chubbs passed away. And that's because Happy finds the alligator that ate Chubbs' hand. By the way, we forgot to mention Chubbs only has one hand because an alligator bit it off. To Captain Hook's origin story. Yeah.

[00:44:19] And Chubbs' prosthetic hand is wooden and by the end, very sad. It's been mutilated. And so Happy to thank Chubbs for all of his work and help serves him the alligator's head on a platter. In a, it's like in a. A chafing dish. I thought it was. Wasn't it? I thought it was inside some sort of chest. Oh.

[00:44:49] But I, I could be missing it. I don't know. But yeah, it was, it was something. And it was revealed. And then Chubbs happens to be standing next to this big ass window. Oh, Chubbs. And falls and dies. I was like, wait a minute. Well, because he, he's so taken aback with the PTSD of the alligator. Right. That he stumbles backwards and falls out to the window.

[00:45:17] But apparently during one take of this, Carl Weathers reportedly hit his back on the wall. Not the stunt bags. And he felt excruciating pain for years after, afterwards, calling the experience debilitating. Oh my God. I hate that for him. Not Apollo Creed. I know. Getting taken out by fucking Happy Gilmore. Oh no. Another serial killer.

[00:45:45] I hope Creed's son avenges his fucking death. Come on, Michael B. Jordan. Right. He should have shown up in Happy Gilmore 2. That would have been like so meta. Yeah. So yes, Happy channels his inner Chubbs and remembers playing putt-putt and how he was able to successfully sink a ball by bing-bonging it off of different apparati.

[00:46:14] And so he did a similar approach in a very Rube Goldberg situation, like a mousetrap where it like hits different things and then slides down and stuff. So he sinks the shot and he has won. So he has won Grandma's house back. He has won the championship and the gold jacket. And Scooter, is it in this one that Scooter takes the jacket and like runs off? He steals it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He steals it.

[00:46:43] But it's okay. Eventually he must get it back because he's wearing it at the end. You see Chubbs playing a piano in heaven or something. With both hands. With both hands. He's like, look, I have my hands back. And everything's all good. Yeah. And that's Happy Gilmore. That is Happy Gilmore. We did it. We did. Mark, you see any fun facts we missed? I'm not sure. I wasn't.

[00:47:10] I was kind of looking at the synopsis that I was going through. Yeah. Oh, no, no worries. So Carl Weathers apparently improvised some of Chubbs' dialogue during filming, which, love that. Oh, yeah. I just, like when he's like, just tap it in. Just, and he's like standing behind Happy and Happy's like, what the fuck are you doing? You could tell that must have been improvised because Adam Sandler almost breaks because he

[00:47:40] laughs during that scene. Yeah. The movie was filmed primarily in British Columbia, Canada with many golf course scenes shot around Vancouver. And this is Adam Sandler's favorite role in a movie of his own. I think it's one of his best. I think so, too. It's just a really well-done character.

[00:48:05] Like, he's so angry and stuff, but he has so much heart and you can tell he really loves his people. Yeah. It's, it's the anger without the silliness, which is one of, like, Waterboy is similar in a sense. I mean, there's a lot of silliness in that, but like, there's also a lot of heart. Yeah, definitely. I don't know if I'll feel the same after we'll see it.

[00:48:31] The name Shooter McGavin has become shorthand in sports media for a confident, confident or antagonistic golfer. Christopher McDonnell was not a golfer before being cast and learned to play for the role. I'm sure he probably plays now. Yeah. Did you find anything, Mark? Yeah, I see it. I'm on it right now. So the Price is Right experienced a rating boost, particularly among young viewers after Bob Barker's throwdown in Happy Gilmore.

[00:49:01] I love that. It's not just for grandmas and when you're home sick. Adam Sandler based the character of Happy Gilmore on his childhood friend, Kyle McDonough, who was a pro hockey player in Norway. After showing off his golf drive one day, Sandler's father remarked that Kyle was able to hit the ball so far because he had hockey risks. That's such a dad thing to say.

[00:49:31] I love that. Christopher McDonnell based aspects of Shooter McGavin's confidence and mannerisms on professional golfers he had observed. And the famous Grizzly Adams line was delivered by golf legend Lee Trevino, but he later expressed regret over the cameo because of the film's foul language. Damn. Which the language wasn't even really that bad. It's not even the worst.

[00:50:01] No, definitely. And lastly, Adam Sandler performs many of Happy's hockey style golf swings himself. And then you also see in later Happy Madison productions, like 50 First States, they do the happy swing. Like it becomes kind of like a little Easter egg in future movies. I love that. Bob Barker and Adam Sandler won the 1996 MTV Movie Award for Best Fight. Love to see it.

[00:50:31] Yeah. Well deserved. No stuntmen. Well, before we get into our present day ratings, just want everybody to hit us up at NoMoreLateFees on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and threads with any thoughts, sharing any commentary. Please send it our way. All right, Mark, we're going to start with your today's ratings. What would it be? Oh, we'll buy it again for sure.

[00:51:01] Okay. Bill holds up. Jackie? Agreed. I, there's, I bought it today to watch it, but also it's just a really solid movie. Like just throw it on in the background whenever, like. There's so many quotable, like. So many. Rylan hits me in the chest with the ball and I'll just say there's 365 more days till next hockey season. We don't want hockey. We don't. You know. Ben Stiller's, my fingers hurt.

[00:51:30] Anytime I'm typing away and I need to, I'll just randomly blurt out my fingers hurt. Tired of making quilts. There's so many, there's so many quotable just things in this movie that it's, it's, it's amazing. It's honestly, it's kind of one of those life-changing movies, I guess, where it's so iconic. And I don't watch golf. I don't watch hockey, but somehow you put them both together and I love it. For me, I would say Friday rental. I really enjoyed it.

[00:52:00] I didn't have a bunch of problems. I don't think I'll buy it, but I enjoyed it. Well, if you want to get in on the action, you hit us up at our quick drop. You can either send us a threads, a tweet, blue sky. We're on all of them. We have a phone number that you can call in or text in on 909-601-6653.

[00:52:22] Or if you leave a review on Apple or a comment on Spotify, we will read anything you have for us on a future episode. Well, I have a comment. It's from our OC episode. It's from Lizzie Boo123. It says, enjoyed this. Honestly, I'd listen to you go through each episode. Genuine question. Could you rent box sets from Blockbuster? I can't remember it. Hi from the UK.

[00:52:51] Well, hi from the UK. Hi, Lizzie. Yes, you could rent TV shows on DVD at Blockbuster. But you had to rent each disc individually. Yeah. Which could be costly. Yeah. It wasn't. Unless it was like in a certain section, then you can get it with the, what do you call it? What did we call the stuff in the middle? Now I'm drawing a blank. Yeah.

[00:53:19] So I remember we bought Titanic and it came in like three VHS. Were there any movies that came in like two discs? Yes. Yes. And when DVDs first came out, there were certain like very early DVDs where you would have to like halfway through the movie, you would say flip over to side B. Oh, that is right. And you have to switch the DVDs in. Yeah.

[00:53:48] I know Pelican Brief was one of them, like one of the very early DVDs where you had to like flip it over halfway through the movie. Well, and don't miss next week as we cover 1996 Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow. As always, it's all in the hips. Be kind and rewind. End. End.