Happy Gilmore

Happy Gilmore is the most beloved sports comedy of the 1990s — a gleefully stupid film about a failed hockey player with a devastating slap shot who enters professional golf to save his grandmother's house. Adam Sandler's Happy is pure id — a rage-fueled man-child whose violent tendencies and complete disregard for golf etiquette make him both the sport's worst nightmare and its biggest draw.

Christopher McDonald's Shooter McGavin is one of the great comedy villains — a preening, insecure champion whose hatred of Happy is rooted in the terrifying realization that talent does not care about tradition. Their rivalry drives the film, and McDonald plays Shooter with such delicious smugness that you root for his downfall as much as Happy's victory.

The film's jokes are absurd — Happy punches Bob Barker, rides an alligator, and fights his caddy — but Sandler grounds the comedy in genuine emotion about his grandmother. The running gag of Happy's 'happy place' became a cultural touchstone. Happy Gilmore proved that sports comedies do not need to be sophisticated to be perfect. Sometimes a man punching a golf ball 400 yards is all the art you need.