Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Adam Sandler, Netflix, Film and TV
Niamh Shackleton
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Happy Gilmore 2.
Happy Gilmore 2 viewers were greeted with an unexpected plot twist in the first few minutes of the new movie.
After nearly three decades of waiting, fans were finally given the sequel they'd been waiting for and Happy Gilmore 2 landed on Netflix on July 25.
At the time of writing, the follow-up film has an admirable 72 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, just 13 percent shy of the first Happy Gilmore's score.
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Adam Sandler fans have wasted no time in watching the sequel and have been quick to spot a heartfelt tribute to his late Grown Ups co-star Cameron Boyce, who passed away at the age of 20 in 2019.
Check out the trailer for the movie here:
The tribute to Boyce isn't the only thing that's got people talking; the unexpected start to Happy Gilmore 2 has too.
Many stars from the first film reprised their respective roles for the second movie, but one key character's return was very short-lived.
The character in question? Happy's wife Virginia, played by Modern Family favorite Julie Bowen.
Within the first few minutes of Happy Gilmore 2, Virginia is accidentally killed by her husband in a golfing accident. Happy then has to step up to be the sole parent of their five kids.
In the wake of Virginia's rather brutal exit, Sandler's fans have taken to social media to air their grievances.
One person penned: "I’m not gonna lie, I was disappointed to see Virginia Venit’s character killed off in #HappyGilmore2. She looked good after 30 years and we only got 3 minutes of her in this film."
Another Happy Gilmore 2 critic said it was 'an outrageously stupid idea' to kill off Bowen's character.
Echoing similar sentiments a different viewer wrote: "Extremely disappointed with the decision to kill Virginia off… Their dynamic could have made this movie."
Somebody else raged: "Why the f**k did they start off Happy Gilmore 2 with him killing Virginia. You cannot be serious."
In anticipation for the backlash the Virginia's death would get, Happy Gilmore 2's director Kyle Newacheck addressed the matter.
When asked if the movie would be able to bounce back from such a dark and dramatic beginning, Newacheck told SlashFilm: "There's always a concern when you're playing with that type of darkness. But I don't know, I was never really concerned, because it is the driving force [of the film].
"If you pull that out, then what do you have? You don't have anything real. But yeah, when I first read the screenplay, that's like page five, and I was glued when that happened. So I knew what that feeling felt like, and I knew that people could get over it. You can get over it."
Happy Gilmore 2 is available to stream on Netflix now.