Adam Sandler delivered an awesome treat for Happy Gilmore fans yesterday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film. Taking a trip to the golf course, he recorded himself recreating the eponymous character's iconic drive, which notably starts with a small running start. Unfortunately, this footage wound up in the hands of the evil Shooter McGavin, who has provided his own edit with a much different conclusion:
As we wrote about in our first article about Adam Sandler's resurrection of the Happy Gilmore swing, actor Christopher McDonald was quick to respond to the video via his Shooter McGavin account on Twitter with a personal message for his rival – but today he took things a step further. In Sandler's original version, fans are asked to take it on his word that the ball the actor strikes goes far and straight, but this new edit suggests otherwise. Spliced together with a memorable scene from the 1996 comedy, the villain's cut shows the drive going so far that it knocks a woman out of a window.
For comparison purposes, you can watch Adam Sandler's original Happy Gilmore 25th anniversary video below:
Is anyone really surprised that even after 25 years Shooter McGavin is still holding a grudge? Not only is the guy a total asshole, but Happy really did do a phenomenal job completely embarrassing him at the Tour Championship. It very likely ruined his career. That probably doesn't justify this silly attempt at a social media frame up, but it's still something to consider.
In all seriousness, this celebration is definitely happening at a perfect time, as it's not only still very easy to appreciate Happy Gilmore as a great film, but Adam Sandler has also been on a roll as of late. He delivered one of his best performances ever playing the lead in the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems in 2019, and last year's Hubie Halloween wound up being one of his best comedies in years. What's more, the spooky Netflix release is also chock full of references to Sandler's early movies including the goofy golf feature – specifically by featuring the return of Ben Stiller's Orderly Hal and the return of Julie Bowen as a character with the initials V.V.
Technically we're now one day past Happy Gilmore's big day, as it first came out on February 16, 1996, but if you missed your opportunity to celebrate yesterday, there's really no reason why you can't do so today. You can treat it like an observed anniversary, and, of course, the best way to mark the occasion is with a rewatch. The movie is now available to stream if you have a subscription to HBO Max, but if not you can always buy or rent it digitally, or pick up a copy of it on Blu-ray or DVD.
