HAPPY GILMORE - HD DVD review

Universal is trying to offer a wide slate of titles for us early adopters of HD-DVD. A few titles have made good sense, while other titles leave you scratching your head and wondering what they were thinking. "Happy Gilmore" is one of those titles that leave you checking for dandruff flakes. Nothing against Happy and its star, Adam Sandler, "The Wedding Singer" sits on my shelf of ‘favorite DVDs' that do not find themselves crammed into storage books. That is a lofty shelf and a lofty honor to be placed there. Still, you would imagine that Universal would have a couple more recent and harder hitting comedies to bring to the format than "Happy Gilmore." Sure, it was one of the movies that brought Sandler to stardom after his break from Saturday Night Live, but it is ten years old and not exactly a visually stunning film. Perhaps Universal is simply trying to show they have no fear dipping into their catalog this early in a formats life. Wouldn't "American Pie" have been a better release? Shannon Elizabeth in High Definition anyone?

"Happy Gilmore" is a classic though. It followed on the heels of "Billy Madison" and helped solidify the notion that Adam Sandler could be a box office draw. From his small role of Smitty on "The Cosby Show" to his ensemble parts in "Coneheads" and "Airheads," "Happy Gilmore" was the second in a long string of very funny films. "Happy Gilmore" showed that Sandler had a good degree of charm and likeability. It allowed himself to portray his very humorous rage typical of many of his characters. The film allowed Sandler to show he is a gifted physical comedian, a boyishly handsome lead and a capable screenwriter. Ten years later, Sandler is still a solid draw at the box office.

The story is about a temperamental young man named Happy Gilmore. His love in life is hockey. He can shoot the puck harder than anybody else, and a poor shot was responsible for the death of his father. One day, Happy's grandmother finds her house being taken away from her and Happy no longer having a home. After a few challenges, Happy finds himself under the wing of one-handed golf pro Chubbs Peterson (Carl Weathers). Happy can drive the ball 400 yards with ease and accuracy. Peterson sees a chance at fame by tutoring Happy on the finer points of being a golfer. The problem is, Happy lacks any ability for the short game or to putt the ball into the cup. He also lacks any ability to hold his humongous temper in check. On the first day of an amateur tournament, he shows up in sweatpants and a hockey jersey. He beats up some of his opponents and lets profanities fly.

Happy wins the tournament and becomes a pro golfer. He catches the eye of a pretty PGA publicist, Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen) and the ire of the reigning tour champion, Shooter McGavin (Christoper McDonald). Happy has another violent and profanity laden debut on the PGA tour and finds PGA officials wanting him tossed. However, he very quickly becomes the fan favorite and Happymania sweeps the nation. The PGA realizes they need Happy and Happy needs them to win enough money to buy his grandmother's home back. Short putts, Shooter McGavin, alligators and his own temper work against Happy as he tries to accumulate his winnings to reach his goal. The fans continue to love him and Happy continues to become a better golfer. A final showdown with Shooter is required to get his mother's home back and the odds are not in Happy's favor.

There are plenty of laughs in "Happy Gilmore." Happy gets beat down by Bob Barker, finds James Bond's villain Jaws (Richard Kiel) supporting him and a heckling fan bent on bringing him down. Sandler shines in the title role. In this early performance he showed hints at what would be following. A few warm moments with Julie Bowen hinted at the Romantic Comedies Sandler would shine in. Happy's innocent violence surely paved the way for "The Waterboy." Allen Covert, Kevin Nealon and other Sandler pals help deliver laughs. Sandler was a co-writer for the film and the role is certainly a role that only he could pull off. He is the master of the ‘Naïve, temperamental and caring' man who struggles, but succeeds in the long run. In "Happy Gilmore" he helps the white ball find its home and he finds a groove that would bring him a long successful career that continues ten years later.

Video:

I initially passed on "Happy Gilmore" on DVD because it was a pan & scan release only. I owned the widescreen DTS LaserDisc and didn't see a need to downgrade. Today, my once 300+ LaserDisc collection has dwindled to fewer than thirty titles and I have finally replaced "Happy Gilmore." There was eventually a DVD widescreen release, but I had passed on it. "Happy Gilmore" is now on HD-DVD and my LaserDisc founds its way to the curb for trash day. "Happy Gilmore" is presented on the high definition disc in 1.85:1 widescreen. It is mastered in 1080p for the day when players and televisions can support the format. At 1080i, the film looks very good and easily surpasses my LaserDisc in quality. I did some research on the DVD release and it wasn't very favorable, so I imagine the HD-DVD is a good call for fans of the film that already have the widescreen DVD.

"Happy Gilmore" is a funny film. It is a comedy. There are a few special effects, but this is not the kind of film that is visually stunning. A lot of the exterior shots take place on lovely golf courses. You get to see a lot of grass, a few bunkers and some water hazards. They all look nice and pretty. Detail is good, but not as stunning as many of the other titles released thus far. Regardless, the hi-def transfer of "Happy Gilmore" looks very good and the pristine source materials exhibit perfectly saturated colors, which are bright and beautiful. Black levels are generally good, but one night scene where Chubbs takes Happy to the miniature golf course for putting lessons could have had truer blacks. The transfer does not disappoint, but "Happy Gilmore" does not match up to some of the tour de force titles already released on the format.

Sound:

The HD-DVD title throws us both English and French Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 soundtracks. Spanish speaking folk will have to settle for a Dolby Digital Plus 2.0 mix. As is the case with the video, "Happy Gilmore" is not a film that will ooh and ahh viewers with its technical capabilities. The sound is clear and natural sounding. The all-important dialogue is reproduced clearly. The film's musical score is rendered nicely and populates the speakers nicely. However, much of the material for the film takes part in the front three speakers and the rear surrounds are dormant for much of the film. Compared to my DTS LaserDisc, the HD-DVD shows some minor improvement, though the .1 LFE channel sounded deeper and fuller on the Laser. The sound quality of "Happy Gilmore" is more than adequate for the film. Whether it had been marginally better or worse would not have mattered much.

Extras:

I have one question. It is a question that has been on my mind for over a month now. I have thirteen HD-DVD titles. This question applies to every Universal released title among them. Where are my theatrical trailers? Universal continues to port over all of the supplements from the DVD releases, but none of the menu driven content or the theatrical trailers. I feel like I'm getting slighted here. Trailers may not seem like much, but sometimes they have deleted moments in them and they can be very entertaining. Is their inclusion on home formats a thing of the past? Has the trailer park packed up and moved on? I'd like to know.

The features that did make the transition from DVD to HD-DVD are a bit thin for this release. They are provided in 480i/p and Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. Yes, they are direct ports from the DVD. The Outrageous Deleted Scenes mentioned on the packaging are funny little snippets. There are seven of them and they can be played individually or all together. The sound and video quality of these deleted scenes were very poor. The sound had a great deal of hiss associated with it. The (to use the box quote) wacky, gut-busting Outtakes ran for under five minutes. They were funny, but brief. With only about fifteen minutes total of value added content, "Happy Gilmore" continues to be a head-scratching release for HD-DVD.

Closing Thoughts:

If all catalog titles will sound and look this good, I can imagine picking up some of my favorites for HD-DVD. However, a good DVD played on an upconverting player is not going to be too far behind. "Happy Gilmore" is a confusing title to release this early to froth up the appetites of consumers and get them to buy into the new format. Yes, it is a statement that catalog titles are forthcoming, but is it a statement that Universal went the quick and cheap route with this title? My feelings on this release are a truly mixed bag. In one way, I'm happy to see catalog titles already released, but "Happy Gimore" does nothing to add to my fervor about the new format. For those of us that skipped DVD for this film, it is surely a worthwhile purchase for Sandler fans and this is especially true for VHS owners. For those that have the early pan and scan release, this is still a wise selection. If you already have a widescreen DVD of the film, I'd recommend picking up a different title for your new Toshiba player.