Birthdays & Happy Gilmore 2

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!

Welcome back to Bad Dads Film Review!
This week, we’re blowing out the candles and unwrapping a nostalgia-packed episode with our Top 5 Birthdays in Film and TV, followed by a dive into Happy Gilmore 2 — the long-awaited, fan-service sequel to Adam Sandler’s 1996 cult classic. Spoiler alert: it’s still not about the golf.

🎉 Top 5 Birthdays in Film and TV

1. Bilbo Baggins' Eleventy-First Birthday (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
   The Shire’s biggest party and Bilbo’s dramatic disappearing act set the tone for the epic ahead. One does not simply forget a birthday with fireworks and invisibility.
2. Sixteen Candles (Sixteen Candles)
   Molly Ringwald’s teen angst and everyone forgetting her birthday? Brutal. But it gave us one of the most iconic teen comedies of the ’80s — and the ultimate cake-top kiss.
3. Harry Potter’s 11th Birthday (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone)
   A surprise letter, a giant named Hagrid, and a ticket to wizard school? Best birthday ever. Also: cake.
4. The Godfather’s Opening Scene (The Godfather)
   Don Corleone’s daughter's wedding/birthday request-palooza is the ultimate in mafioso hospitality. You come to me, on this... etc.
5. The Birthday Time Loop (The Map of Tiny Perfect Things)
   Kathryn Newton’s character is stuck reliving her birthday in this sweet sci-fi romance, turning one birthday into infinite moments of reflection.

🏌️ Main Feature: Happy Gilmore 2 (2024)
After nearly three decades, Adam Sandler returns as the volatile, hockey-stick-swinging golf legend Happy Gilmore in a sequel nobody expected — but everyone kind of wanted.

Years after a triumphant golf career, Happy Gilmore is a widowed alcoholic haunted by a tragic accident that drove him from the sport. His quiet life working at a supermarket is upended when his daughter earns a spot at a prestigious Parisian ballet school, forcing Happy to return to the green to pay for her tuition. His comeback effort puts him on a collision course with Maxi Golf, a new, extreme league whose players surgically sever a ligament to enhance their driving distance. 

To stand against this threat to the sport's integrity, Happy must not only conquer his own demons but also forge an unlikely truce with his old nemesis, Shooter McGavin, leading to a final showdown between traditional golf and corporate greed, with everything on the line in one impossible putt.

But is it as much fun as the original??

So grab your birthday hats, light a candle, and settle in as we celebrate the highs, the lows, and the weirdness of birthdays on screen — from middle-earth to mini-golf. 🎬🎂👨‍👧‍👦🍿

We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com.

Until next time, we remain...

Bad Dads