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Happy Gilmore
Metascore
31 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 14 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 14
  3. Negative: 7 out of 14
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  1. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    63
    Slap Happy. [16 February 1996, p.D4]
    All this critic's reviews
  2. Empire
    Reviewed by: Darren Bignell
    60
    The real surprise is that it's a lot of fun, with Sandler becoming more personable as the film progresses, and a couple of truly side-splitting scenes.
  3. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    50
    Adam Sandler is funny as the volatile hero, and the screenplay is just abrasive enough to keep the story surprising.
  4. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Edward Guthmann
    50
    It may smell awful from a distance, especially if you have low tolerance for lowbrow humor, but up close this yarn about an unlikely golf star is fairly painless.
  5. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    50
    Several strokes short of a respectable finish.
  6. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Richard Harrington
    50
    A genial and surprisingly self-contained performance by Adam Sandler.
  7. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    40
    The result is a movie that's hard to laugh at when its hero would surely be either in jail or perhaps even a mental institution were he to behave the way he does on screen in real life.
  8. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    38
    Tells the story of a violent sociopath. Since it's about golf, that makes it a comedy.
  9. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    33
    Adam Sandler stars in a one-joke Caddyshack for the blitzed and jaded.
  10. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    30
    Sorry excuse for a comedy.
  11. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    30
    Doesn't deliver.
  12. San Francisco Examiner
    Reviewed by: Walter Addiego
    25
    A way-below-par golfing comedy.
  13. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Joey O'Bryan
    11
    A lame, unoriginal comedy.
  14. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    10
    Added together, there are about three minutes of funny material in Happy Gilmore, and pretty much all of them are in the trailer, leaving a sometimes painfully unfunny 90 minutes with which to contend.
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.4 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 61 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. MichaelD
    9
    It's Adam Sandler's best movie by a mile. It's really funny but I don't know why the hell this movie's metascore is 31. If you ask me it's worth at least a 70. And Ben Stiller is VERY FUNNY.… Full Review »
  2. JackP
    10
    A hilarious Adam Sandler comedy. It is probably the best. The main laughs come from two costars. One is Kevin Nealon as a crazy but insightive golf player. The other one is Ben Stiller as the evil worker at a retirement home that Happy's grandmother temporarily lives at. But even without them, this movie would still be hilarious, they just add a lot of extra laughs.… Full Review »
  3. Kadeemluvmusic
    10
    Some critics doesn't like Adam Sandler these days, but forget them. "Happy Gilmore" was one of the best comedies of the 1990s. I love the film with a hilarious funnybone. My favorite part in the movie was when Gilmore met with Bob Barker from "The Price Is Right." Gilmore was trying to score a hole in one, but a fisherman of some sort distracted Gilmore and called him a "Jackass!" and that's why Happy wasn't happy at all. He cost him and Barker the game and when it's all said then done, Gilmore and Barker started to get physical and fighting their heads off as they brawled all the way to the end of the pond. And then Happy said "The price is wrong, **** I couldn't handle myself watching a classic Adam Sandler movie from Billy Madison to Big Daddy. I got it on DVD and it's a must-buy movie.… Full Review »
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