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San Francisco Chronicle
5 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Happy Gilmore' became a cult comedy. 29 years later, Adam Sandler is swinging again
NEW YORK (AP) — 'Happy Gilmore' was born on the range. When Adam Sandler was a kid growing up in New Hampshire, his father was an avid golfer. He'd often take his son along to hit balls at the driving range. But Sandler was uninterested in the sport, and usually got antsy. 'Why don't you bring a friend?' his dad told him. So Sandler took his buddy, Kyle McDonough, a star hockey player who'd later turn professional. 'He never played before but he was cracking the ball so far,' Sandler recalls. 'So when I started becoming a comedian and me and (Tim) Herlihy were writing stuff and stand-up and talking about movies, I started thinking about a guy who could hit it really big and had a hockey player mentality.' 'Happy Gilmore,' released in 1996, was Sander and Herlihy's second movie, following 'Billy Madison.' Sandler was just exiting 'Saturday Night Live.' Herlihy was Sandler's roommate at New York University and became a lawyer before Sandler got him to stick to writing comedy. (You might remember the 'Herlihy Boy' sketch.) 'We had just done our first movie, 'Billy Madison,' and we put every idea we ever had for a movie in that movie,' says Herlihy. 'So when they said we could do another movie, it was like, 'What are we going to do this movie about?'' 'Happy Gilmore,' released in February 1996, became one of the most beloved comedies of the '90s and codified the hockey-style swing as a mainstay on golf courses. 'A hop, skip and a hit,' as Sandler says. The movie also made comic heroes of Bob Barker, Christopher McDonald and Carl Weathers, and made lines like 'Are you too good for your home?' plausible things to ask golf balls. Like most cult comedies, 'Happy Gilmore' didn't start out an obvious instant classic, though. 'A one-joke 'Caddyshack' for the blitzed and jaded,' wrote EW. 'To describe Happy's antics as boorish is putting it mildly,' wrote The New York Times. ''Happy Gilmore' tells the story of a violent sociopath,' wrote Roger Ebert. He called it 'the latest in the dumber and dumbest sweepstakes.' 'Happy Gilmore' was a box-office success, grossing $39 million in the U.S. and Canada. And through worn-out DVDs and regular TV reruns, it became a favorite to generations of golfers and a staple of goofy '90s comedy. 'I can't even tell you how many times I've seen that movie,' says the actor-filmmaker Benny Safdie, who co-directed Sandler in 'Uncut Gems.' 'It was on an endless loop. I had the DVD and I just kept watching it. I can close my eyes and see the movie end to end. It's one of my favorite movies.' Now, nearly three decades later, and after years of batting away pleas for a sequel, Sandler has finally put Happy's Bruins jersey back on. 'Happy Gilmore 2,' which Netflix will debut Friday, is arguably the most anticipated streaming release of the summer. Avoiding a comedy sequel curse Sandler was well aware of the checkered history of comedy sequels. Movies like 'Zoolander 2' and 'Anchorman 2' have struggled to recapture the freewheeling spirit of the originals. The movie Sandler counts as his favorite, 'Caddyshack' — so much so that he was initially hesitant to make a golf comedy — spawned 1988's woebegone 'Caddyshack II.' 'If someone brought it up to us, we were like, 'Yeah, no, we're not going to do that,'' Sandler said in a recent interview alongside Herlihy. 'There was no moment we went 'Aha.' It just kind of happened. The last couple years, we were talking about Happy and how it might be funny if he was down and out.' In 'Happy Gilmore 2,' co-written by Sandler and Herlihy, Happy is a decorated retired golfer with four sons and a daughter (played by Sandler's daughter, Sunny Sandler). But after a tragic incident and falling on hard times, he's lured back into golf. This time, though, Happy is an insider, motivated to protect the sport. Safdie co-stars as the founder of Maxi Golf, a new circus-like tour with long hitters. 'We thought it could be fun to write something like that' says Sandler. 'It kind of connected to our lives and this age, and wanting to make a full-on comedy. There's nothing better than dropping a comedy and trying to make people laugh, to us. It feels like why we originally got into this business.' Big, broad comedies have grown almost extinct in the decades since 'Happy Gilmore.' Returning to that style of comedy was, for Sandler and Herlihy, the best reason to make the sequel. For the 58-year-old friends and regular collaborators, it was a chance to riff like they used to. 'We were outlining the story together and then we were like, 'We should watch the first one again, man,'' Sandler says. 'We're going off of our memory of so many things, hanging out with Carl Weathers and Bob Barker and all that stuff. Then we watched it and we were like, 'Oh, yeah.' It was a tone.' 'It made a little more sense than 'Billy Madison,'' says Herlihy, 'but we weren't afraid to swing, swing, swing.' A supporting cast of PGA winners Cameos, of course, were a major part of 'Happy Gilmore.' (The Bob Barker scene was originally written for Ed McMahon.) In the years since, many of the faces of the original have died, including Barker, Weathers, Frances Bay, the hulking Richard Kiel and Joe Flaherty, who played the heckler. Even the golf ball-stealing alligator, Morris, has passed on. 'Happy Gilmore 2,' unusually elegiac for a proudly silly comedy, nods to all of them. For the sequel, many others, like Travis Kelce, Bad Bunny and Margaret Qualley, were lining up to be a part of it. So were pro golfers. Just about all the big names in golf, including several legends, appear. The day after winning Sunday's British Open, Scottie Scheffler flew to New York for the premiere. Over the years, Herlihy and Sandler have seen a lot of them try 'the Happy Gilmore.' 'I feel like when these golfers try to do it, these pros, they're 5% thinking, 'Maybe this will work,'' says Herlihy, laughing. 'I played with Bryson (DeChambeau) like a week ago and when he did it, it was ridiculous,' adds Sandler. 'He literally blasted it 360 and just kept walking. I was like, 'Did he just smash the Happy Gilmore and not even think about it?'' It's possible that 'the Happy Gilmore' will even outlive the movies. There's a good chance that, even as you read this, somewhere some kid is trying it, hoping to get a laugh and maybe get it on the fairway, too. 'When we were putting it together, I called my dad and asked him if it was legal. He was like, 'I don't see why not,'' Sandler remembers. 'Then there are some people who look at it and go: 'It does help you swing hard. It gives you more momentum. You turn your hips faster. Maybe it's a good thing.''
Winnipeg Free Press
35 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Happy Gilmore' became a cult comedy. 29 years later, Adam Sandler is swinging again
NEW YORK (AP) — 'Happy Gilmore' was born on the range. When Adam Sandler was a kid growing up in New Hampshire, his father was an avid golfer. He'd often take his son along to hit balls at the driving range. But Sandler was uninterested in the sport, and usually got antsy. 'Why don't you bring a friend?' his dad told him. So Sandler took his buddy, Kyle McDonough, a star hockey player who'd later turn professional. 'He never played before but he was cracking the ball so far,' Sandler recalls. 'So when I started becoming a comedian and me and (Tim) Herlihy were writing stuff and stand-up and talking about movies, I started thinking about a guy who could hit it really big and had a hockey player mentality.' 'Happy Gilmore,' released in 1996, was Sander and Herlihy's second movie, following 'Billy Madison.' Sandler was just exiting 'Saturday Night Live.' Herlihy was Sandler's roommate at New York University and became a lawyer before Sandler got him to stick to writing comedy. (You might remember the 'Herlihy Boy' sketch.) 'We had just done our first movie, 'Billy Madison,' and we put every idea we ever had for a movie in that movie,' says Herlihy. 'So when they said we could do another movie, it was like, 'What are we going to do this movie about?'' 'Happy Gilmore,' released in February 1996, became one of the most beloved comedies of the '90s and codified the hockey-style swing as a mainstay on golf courses. 'A hop, skip and a hit,' as Sandler says. The movie also made comic heroes of Bob Barker, Christopher McDonald and Carl Weathers, and made lines like 'Are you too good for your home?' plausible things to ask golf balls. Like most cult comedies, 'Happy Gilmore' didn't start out an obvious instant classic, though. 'A one-joke 'Caddyshack' for the blitzed and jaded,' wrote EW. 'To describe Happy's antics as boorish is putting it mildly,' wrote The New York Times. ''Happy Gilmore' tells the story of a violent sociopath,' wrote Roger Ebert. He called it 'the latest in the dumber and dumbest sweepstakes.' 'Happy Gilmore' was a box-office success, grossing $39 million in the U.S. and Canada. And through worn-out DVDs and regular TV reruns, it became a favorite to generations of golfers and a staple of goofy '90s comedy. 'I can't even tell you how many times I've seen that movie,' says the actor-filmmaker Benny Safdie, who co-directed Sandler in 'Uncut Gems.' 'It was on an endless loop. I had the DVD and I just kept watching it. I can close my eyes and see the movie end to end. It's one of my favorite movies.' Now, nearly three decades later, and after years of batting away pleas for a sequel, Sandler has finally put Happy's Bruins jersey back on. 'Happy Gilmore 2,' which Netflix will debut Friday, is arguably the most anticipated streaming release of the summer. Avoiding a comedy sequel curse Sandler was well aware of the checkered history of comedy sequels. Movies like 'Zoolander 2' and 'Anchorman 2' have struggled to recapture the freewheeling spirit of the originals. The movie Sandler counts as his favorite, 'Caddyshack' — so much so that he was initially hesitant to make a golf comedy — spawned 1988's woebegone 'Caddyshack II.' 'If someone brought it up to us, we were like, 'Yeah, no, we're not going to do that,'' Sandler said in a recent interview alongside Herlihy. 'There was no moment we went 'Aha.' It just kind of happened. The last couple years, we were talking about Happy and how it might be funny if he was down and out.' In 'Happy Gilmore 2,' co-written by Sandler and Herlihy, Happy is a decorated retired golfer with four sons and a daughter (played by Sandler's daughter, Sunny Sandler). But after a tragic incident and falling on hard times, he's lured back into golf. This time, though, Happy is an insider, motivated to protect the sport. Safdie co-stars as the founder of Maxi Golf, a new circus-like tour with long hitters. 'We thought it could be fun to write something like that' says Sandler. 'It kind of connected to our lives and this age, and wanting to make a full-on comedy. There's nothing better than dropping a comedy and trying to make people laugh, to us. It feels like why we originally got into this business.' Big, broad comedies have grown almost extinct in the decades since 'Happy Gilmore.' Returning to that style of comedy was, for Sandler and Herlihy, the best reason to make the sequel. For the 58-year-old friends and regular collaborators, it was a chance to riff like they used to. 'We were outlining the story together and then we were like, 'We should watch the first one again, man,'' Sandler says. 'We're going off of our memory of so many things, hanging out with Carl Weathers and Bob Barker and all that stuff. Then we watched it and we were like, 'Oh, yeah.' It was a tone.' 'It made a little more sense than 'Billy Madison,'' says Herlihy, 'but we weren't afraid to swing, swing, swing.' A supporting cast of PGA winners Cameos, of course, were a major part of 'Happy Gilmore.' (The Bob Barker scene was originally written for Ed McMahon.) In the years since, many of the faces of the original have died, including Barker, Weathers, Frances Bay, the hulking Richard Kiel and Joe Flaherty, who played the heckler. Even the golf ball-stealing alligator, Morris, has passed on. 'Happy Gilmore 2,' unusually elegiac for a proudly silly comedy, nods to all of them. For the sequel, many others, like Travis Kelce, Bad Bunny and Margaret Qualley, were lining up to be a part of it. So were pro golfers. Just about all the big names in golf, including several legends, appear. The day after winning Sunday's British Open, Scottie Scheffler flew to New York for the premiere. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Over the years, Herlihy and Sandler have seen a lot of them try 'the Happy Gilmore.' 'I feel like when these golfers try to do it, these pros, they're 5% thinking, 'Maybe this will work,'' says Herlihy, laughing. 'I played with Bryson (DeChambeau) like a week ago and when he did it, it was ridiculous,' adds Sandler. 'He literally blasted it 360 and just kept walking. I was like, 'Did he just smash the Happy Gilmore and not even think about it?'' It's possible that 'the Happy Gilmore' will even outlive the movies. There's a good chance that, even as you read this, somewhere some kid is trying it, hoping to get a laugh and maybe get it on the fairway, too. 'When we were putting it together, I called my dad and asked him if it was legal. He was like, 'I don't see why not,'' Sandler remembers. 'Then there are some people who look at it and go: 'It does help you swing hard. It gives you more momentum. You turn your hips faster. Maybe it's a good thing.''
Elle
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Adrian Grenier Won't Return for 'Devil Wears Prada' Sequel—and This Is Who's Taking His Place
THE RUNDOWN It looks like the real villain of The Devil Wears Prada won't be returning for its sequel. According to an Entertainment Weekly exclusive, Adrian Grenier, who played Andy's tepid boyfriend Nate Cooper, will not be returning for the upcoming film. In a previous EW interview, Grenier spoke about his controversial character. 'When that whole thing [about Nate being the 'real villain' of the film] first came out, I couldn't get my head around it,' he said. 'I didn't understand it. Perhaps it was because I wasn't mature as a man, just as Nate probably could've used a little growing up. I was just as immature as him at the time, so I couldn't see his shortcomings, but, after taking time to reflect and much deliberation online, I can realize the truth in that perspective.' He then went on to say that Nate couldn't fully support Andy and her budding fashion career because 'he was a fragile, wounded boy…. on behalf of all the Nates out there: Come on! Step it up!' On July 21, Entertainment Weekly reported that Andy will have a new love interest: the Australian actor Patrick Brammall (Colin from Accounts). Variety reported that the new film, which is set to release on May 1, 2026, will follow Meryl Streep's character, editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly, as she 'navigates her career amid the decline of traditional magazine publishing and faces off against [Emily] Blunt's character, now a high-powered executive for a luxury group with advertising dollars that Priestly desperately needs.' In addition to Streep, Hathaway, and Blunt, Stanley Tucci will also be in the sequel, along with new addition Kenneth Branagh. Production began on Monday.
Courier-Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Courier-Mail
Aussie star lands big role in The Devil Wears Prada 2: report
Don't miss out on the headlines from Movies. Followed categories will be added to My News. A popular Aussie star has reportedly joined the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada in a very significant role. Patrick Brammall, 49, best known as Gordon in Colin From Accounts, is set to play the love interest for Anne Hathaway's Andy Sachs. Entertainment Weekly broke the news earlier this week after previously reporting that Andy's boyfriend from the 2006 original, Nate (Adrien Grenier), would not be in the long-awaited sequel. Brammall is yet to confirm the news. In the almost 20 years since The Devil Wears Prada was released, Nate has become an increasingly controversial character, with many agreeing his attitude toward Andy's career made him the real villain of the story. Hathaway is reprising her role as Andy in the sequel. Brammall will reportedly play the leading man. Grenier has since addressed the backlash himself, telling EW he understood the negativity toward Nate. 'When that whole thing [about Nate being the 'real villain' of the film] first came out, I couldn't get my head around it. I didn't understand it. Perhaps it was because I wasn't mature as a man, just as Nate probably could've used a little growing up,' he said in June 2021. Nate, played by Adrien Grenier, was Andy's love interest in the original film. 'I was just as immature as him at the time, so I couldn't see his shortcomings, but, after taking time to reflect and much deliberation online, I can realise the truth in that perspective. Nate hadn't grown up, but Andy had … she needed more out of life, and she was achieving it. 'He couldn't support her like she needed because he was a fragile, wounded boy,' Grenier said of his controversial character. 'On behalf of all the Nates out there: Come on! Step it up.' Streep and Blunt are also returning for the sequel. In The Devil Wears Prada, Andy and Nate break up after repeatedly clashing over priorities as her career skyrockets, but later reconnect – seemingly as friends – when they meet up after she finally quits her job. Joining the cast along with Brammall is My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's Rachel Bloom, Lucy Liu, Justin Theroux and B.J. Novak, although details of their roles have been kept quiet. Meanwhile, original stars Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci were previously confirmed to reprise their roles. According to Variety, the sequel 'follows Priestly as she navigates her career amid the decline of traditional magazine publishing and as she faces off against Blunt's character, now a high-powered executive for a luxury group with advertising dollars that Priestly desperately needs.' The Devil Wears Prada 2 will hit theatres in May 2026. Originally published as Aussie star lands big role in The Devil Wears Prada 2: report
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bill Cosby pays tribute to TV son Malcolm-Jamal Warner following his death
Bill Cosby spoke out Monday to lament the loss of Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played his TV son for eight seasons on 1980s TV hit The Cosby Show. "He was always a great studier, and I enjoyed working with him very much," Cosby said in an interview with ABC News. "He was very professional. He always knew his part.... He always knew his lines, and he always knew where to go." Warner was a young teenager when he first played the role of Theo Huxtable, one of the five children of Cosby's Dr. Cliff Huxtable and his wife Clair (Phylicia Rashad). Theo was the couple's only son in a family that also included Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf), Denise (Lisa Bonet), Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe), and Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam). Cosby said that he and Warner had remained close after the show ended in 1992, wrapping up eight award-winning seasons: "Malcolm calls here regularly." In addition, Warner went on to appear on shows such as Malcolm & Eddie, Community, Suits, The Resident, 9-1-1, and Alert: Missing Persons Unit. Warner also hosted a podcast, Not All Hood, and he was a poet and a Grammy-winning musician. Cosby faced legal trouble in the decades after the show. The comedian denied allegations of sexual misconduct from dozens of women. While he was convicted of sexual assault in 2018, he was released on a technicality in lawyer declined to share a statement with EW when reached for comment. In addition to Cosby, Warner was mourned by the likes of Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, and Questlove, who remembered Warner as having been "a gps/lighthouse of navigating safety to adulthood" on the groundbreaking series that depicted an upper-class Black family. "Seeing myself in every episode through his shoes: like being bad at football, wanting clothes outside of my budget, hiding things from your parents (ear piercings or weed), living in a 'respectable politics' house of jazz vs 'teen music' —-pssssh Theo being instrumental to a lion's share of gen x teens to see how a sampler worked!!! Or even singalongs at a family gathering—-him dealing with dyslexia ——he even had me think I too can get by in life surviving on 'bologna & cereal' and for the first time thinking about 'what does it mean to be an adult without depending on your parents?'——-Alot of us only had the Huxtables to vicariously live through and I was Malcolm. Meeting him on 94 was a thrill when I first got in the biz." The Roots artist said Warner had been an early supporter of the group, and he said he was disappointed they had never collaborated as they planned. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
