Way back in the 1990s Adam Sandler had a breakout run of movies that transformed him from a Saturday Night Live cast member to a big screen star. Among them was 1996’s “Happy Gilmore”, a silly but endearing comedy about a rough around the edges hockey player who shakes up the prim and proper world of golf. The film didn’t blow up the box office but it was a commercial success. Even more, it gained and has maintained a loyal and vocal cult following.

Since then, Sandler movies have slid into a frustratingly redundant but undeniably lucrative routine. They’re often lazy exercises that recycle the same humor and are stuffed with nonstop cameos from the actor’s many friends. Nevertheless, there apparently remains a demand for these movies as evident by the enormous deals Sandler has made with Netflix. And that leads us to their latest collaboration.

“Happy Gilmore 2” arrives nearly thirty years after the original film released. At its core is a fairly basic feel-good comeback story with occasional scenes that tease a beating heart. But Sandler and director Kyle Newacheck drown their story in nostalgia, flooding the movie with constant callbacks. Far worse, “Happy Gilmore 2” is plagued by some of the worst tendencies from the more recent Sandler movies. In other words, it smothers out the few good gags with waves of unfunny low-bar humor. And it wedges in endless cameos that leads to one embarrassingly bad scene after another.

For Sandler’s Happy Gilmore, a lot has happened since winning his first championship in 1996, A ridiculous narrated prologue tells us Happy would go on to have a successful professional career, winning five more titles. Meanwhile at home, he and his wife Virginia (Julie Bowen) had five children together. But everything changed in 2014. While playing in a Mother’s Day golf tournament, Happy shanks a drive which ends up striking Virginia in the head, killing her.

Left alone to raise their five kids, a (supposedly) devastated Happy quits golf and drowns himself in booze. He ends up broke which leads to him losing everything including their home. Still he refuses to get back into golf, instead taking a job stocking produce at a local supermarket. But then his lone daughter Vienna (Sunny Sandler) is offered a spot in an exclusive $75,000 a year ballet school in Paris. Determined to help her realize her dream, Happy dusts off his clubs and heads back to the Tour.

The film’s big bland baddie is Frank Manatee (Benny Safdie). He’s the CEO of the Maxi Golf League, a raucous reimagining of the game of golf. Manatee approaches Happy about joining his tour but Happy declines. This inspires an angry Manatee to seek out Happy’s old rival Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) who has spent the last 29 years in a mental institution. Manatee’s plan is to railroad Happy’s comeback and catapult Maxi as the world’s premiere golf league.

For reasons that are never really explained, golf’s future suddenly hangs in the balance. And it will be decided by a tournament pitting the five top Maxi golfers against the five top Tour golfers. It all leads to a chaotic final act that stands out most for its haphazard directing and editing. For a stretch it frantically bounces all over the place before finally settling down for an attempt at an emotional payoff that it never quite earns.

To no surprise, the movie is littered with bad performances, mostly from nonprofessional actors who are just there to be recognized. Others like Safdie, Bowen, Steve Buscemi, and Margaret Qualley do what they can while being handcuffed to bad material. Meanwhile Sandler is solid enough in a familiar role he can do in his sleep. If there is a standout, it has to be McDonald who has a lot of fun bringing back Shooter McGavin.

“Happy Gilmore 2” throws so much at the screen that die-hard fans are sure to find something they’ll enjoy. But no matter how much nostalgia Sandler and company employ, this mostly uninspired and imagination-free sequel lacks the spirit and charm of its predecessor. It’s a half-hearted effort that attempts to find humor in running jokes about alcoholism, dopey bare butt gags, and celebrity non-actors saying and doing silly things. The results are mostly witless, crude, and borderline humiliating. But at least they had a better time making it than I had watching it. “Happy Gilmore 2” is now streaming on Netflix.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS