History YMMV / HappyGilmore

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: The film's broader message is "hold in your temper", but the movie ends with Mr. Larson and Happy's fans beating the hell out of Shooter. The better message can be, "be discriminate in your use of physical force. There are times when you need to be angry, but you should normally let things slide".

---> "You know that 'Mista Mista' lady? I think I just, uh, killed her."

* OneSceneWonder: Creator/BobBarker, as he utterly whoops Happy during their game. Barker initially was going to decline the cameo, until he was informed he would ''win''.

* VindicatedByHistory: The sharp downturn in quality of Creator/AdamSandler's latter-day films makes it much easier to appreciate this film by contrast as a bright, if perhaps unpolished, comic gem.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Creator/BobBarker was an avid martial arts practitioner well into his 80s, so he was actually to hold his own in a tussle with somebody.

* GeniusBonus: For golf fans, there may be some extra laughter over a range having a 400' sign (which none would have, since who could reach it?) and Shooter firing his caddie, because a five-iron suggestion for that approach would deserve a pink slip.

* DesignatedVillain: The [=IRS=] agent is treated as the bad guy for trying to repossess Grandma Gilmore's house. But no one calls out Grandma for not having paid her taxes in decades, with Happy trying to excuse it by saying, "she's old."

* MoralEventHorizon: Shooter crosses it when he [[spoiler:buys Happy's grandmother's house in order to blackmail Happy into quitting the tour, and makes the comment that if Happy lays a hand on him, "[he'll] burn the house down and piss on the ashes]]." With this act, Shooter takes their rivalry off the course and makes it personal, and nothing less than karmic retribution direct from Happy himself will do as punishment. And if that didn't send him over the line [[spoiler: having his deranged fun hit Happy with a car, which could've ''killed him'', certainly sealed him as a horrible asshole]].

* NeverLiveItDown: Creator/ChristopherMcDonald is most known for his role in this movie and nothing else, despite playing multiple roles through film and television. Among this list are various characters in the Franchise/{{Superman}} franchise, including the Man of Steel himself in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''... And yet, [=McDonald=] is only remembered as Shooter [=McGavin=]. That being said, [=McDonald=] is a lifelong fan of golf, and says that he's never had to pay for another game of golf in his life after taking the role of Shooter, so one presumes that he's not too upset about the whole thing.

* EnsembleDarkhorse:

* MoralEventHorizon: Shooter crosses it when he [[spoiler:buys Happy's grandmother's house in order to blackmail Happy into quitting the tour, and makes the comment that if Happy lays a hand on him, "[he'll] burn the house down and piss on the ashes]]." With this act Shooter takes their rivalry off the course and makes it personal, and nothing less than karmic retribution direct from Happy himself will do as punishment. And if that didn't send him over the line [[spoiler: having his deranged fun hit Happy with a car, which could've ''killed him'', certainly sealed him as a horrible asshole]].

** Happy's first girlfriend scolding and then breaking up with him over his speaker phone is funny, just because it's ''so poorly acted''.

* NeverLiveItDown: Creator/ChristopherMcDonald is most known for his role in this movie and nothing else, despite playing multiple roles through film and television. Among this list is various characters in the Franchise/{{Superman}} franchise, including the Man of Steel himself in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''... And yet, [=McDonald=] is only remembered as Shooter [=McGavin=]. That being said, [=McDonald=] is a lifelong fan of golf, and says that he's never had to pay for another game of golf in his life after taking the role as Shooter, so one presumes that he's not too upset about the whole thing.

* CrossesTheLineTwice:
** Happy tries to fix his grandmother's air-conditioning unit, but too much PercussiveMaintenance causes it to fall out of the window it's perched on and onto another resident. The woman ends up on her back somehow, flailing her limbs with the unit simply sitting on her like a large dog.

** And then a large, older Asian woman overhears his creepy attempt at serenating his ex-girlfriend over the speaker (long after she's left the area) and comes up to his apartment with heart in hand. The fact that her age and weight are treated as ''repulsive'' by the movie would definitely not fly today.

** Work on the strengths you have. While Happy's skill in hockey is subpar, it is when he finds a career that allows him to use a slapshot, his life ultimately improves.
** Many down-on-their-luck people can better themselves if you give them a chance. Happy's caddy is an inept hobo who can't a golf club bag. But overtime, thanks to Happy's faith, the man's skill as a caddy improves to the point that he has the strength and reflexes to deal with Happy's tantrums.

** Many down-on-their-luck people can better themselves if you give them a chance. Happy's caddy is an inept hobo who can't a club. But overtime, thanks to Happy's faith, the man's skill as a caddy improves to the point that he's strong enough to deal with Happy's tantrums.

* TearJerker: Chubbs' death. Then at his funeral, Happy picks up his prosthetic hand and shakes it as if he's still alive.

----
* AcceptableTargets: [=IRS=] agents deserve to be chucked through a window.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Several of the issues that would be seen as negatives in Sandler's later films show up here, but in muted form that makes them more tolerable.
** A main character who has anger issues: Many of Sandler's characters throughout his films have a HairTriggerTemper, and Happy is no exception. But Happy is also presented as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold whose primary motivation is wanting to help his grandmother. Happy's rage is both explained in the opening narration and presented as his FatalFlaw, since Happy's temper crops up at the worst times and he undergoes CharacterDevelopment to get past it. Shooter even pulls a BatmanGambit that relies on Happy's temper flaring up exactly when it would cause the most damage, so it also gets some FlawExploitation that makes sense in the plot and adds conflict. Many later films would employ anger as a character trait for Adam Sandler's roles, but also give off character traits that make this anger awkward or make the character into a straight {{Jerkass}}.
** Blatant ProductPlacement: It's mostly PlayedForLaughs, what with the BadBadActing from Happy in a commercial for Subway restaurants. The blatant manner that Happy is shilling Subway comes off as parody, since Happy is doing product placement in-universe, and is quite bad at it. Plus, it's justified: he's a pro athlete who's been suspended from playing but still needs to earn a large amount of money, making the product placement a joke while making sense in the plot. This is a bit more natural than the in-your-face blatant product placement that Sandler's later films would employ unironically.
** Out-of-nowhere celebrity cameos: The cameo from Bob Barker does kind of show up out of nowhere, but the context of a charity golf tournament with celebrities justifies Barker's inclusion, as well as Happy's fight with Barker being more in-line with Happy's character having a HairTriggerTemper. Not to mention, it factors into the plot when Happy gets suspended for fighting with Barker on the tour, forcing Happy to think of another way to get the money he needs for his grandmother's house.

** Out-of-nowhere celebrity cameos: The cameo from Bob Barkerdoes kind of show up out of nowhere, but the context of a charity golf tournament with celebrities justifies Barker's inclusion, as well as Happy's fight with Barker being more in-line with Happy's character having a HairTriggerTemper. Not to mention, it factors into the plot when Happy gets suspended for fighting with Barker on the tour, forcing Happy to think of another way to get the money he needs for his grandmother's house.

** A main character who has anger issues: Many of Sandler's characters throughout his films have a HairTriggerTemper, but Happy is presented as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who just wants to help his grandmother. Happy's rage is both explained in the opening narration and presented as his FatalFlaw, since Happy's temper crops up at the worst times and he undergoes CharacterDevelopment to get past it. Shooter even pulls a BatmanGambit that relies on Happy's temper flaring up exactly when it would cause the most damage, so it also gets some FlawExploitation that makes sense in the plot and adds conflict. Many later films would employ anger as a character trait, but also give off character traits that make this anger awkward or make the character into a straight {{Jerkass}}.
** The blatant ProductPlacement. It's mostly PlayedForLaughs, what with the BadBadActing from Happy in a commercial for Subway restaurants. The blatant manner that Happy is shilling Subway comes off as parody, since Happy is doing product placement in-universe, and is quite bad at it. Plus, it's justified: he's a pro athlete who's been suspended from playing but still needs to earn a large amount of money, making the product placement a joke while making sense in the plot. This is a bit more natural than the in-your-face blatant product placement that Sandler's later films would employ unironically.
** The celebrity cameo from Bob Barker. He does kind of show up out of nowhere, but the context of a charity golf tournament with celebrities justifies Barker's inclusion, as well as Happy's fight with Barker being more in-line with Happy's character having a HairTriggerTemper. Not to mention, it factors into the plot when Happy gets suspended for fighting with Barker on the tour, forcing Happy to think of another way to get the money he needs for his grandmother's house.

** The celebrity cameo from Bob Barker. He does kind of show up out of nowhere, but the context of a charity golf tournament with celebrities justifies Barker's inclusion, as well as Happy's fight with Barker being more in-line with Happy's character having a HairTriggerTemper. Not to mention, it gets a SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome when Happy gets suspended for fighting with Barker on the tour.

** And then a large, older Asian woman overhears his creepy attempt at serenating his ex-girlfriend over the speaker (long after she's left the area) and comes up to his apartment with heart in hand. The fact that her age, weight and ethnicity are treated as ''repulsive'' by the movie would definitely not fly today.