Hard to believe, but I liked Dennis Dugan's Happy Gilmore (1996)--first Sandler flick I can say that about (yeah, I've seen him do Paul Christian Andersen). This seems to be the original on which the less funny Tin Cup (which I do like as well) was based; the plot basically turns on the question of whether or not Gilmore can hold his temper during the course of a golf tour, a premise Sandler's violently passive-aggressive comic style fits admirably.
It's your standard-issue story--loser concocts an original way of competing, collects a bunch of oddball figures along the trip, and wins things his way. What makes it entertaining are the outrageous bits--Christopher MacDonald frenching Sandler's mom, Sandler alligator wrassling, the mini-golf course that resembles a theme park Carl Weathers takes Sandler to to practice his short game. That, and the sense that Sandler and Dugan are giving the genteel, geriatric game of golf a deep, thorough, and leisurely reaming.
Oh, and Bob Barker here is cool beyond description.
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