Customer Reviews

The Billy Madison/Happy Gilmore Collection (Widescreen Special Edition)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was so excited when I heard about the Billy Madison/Happy Gilmore box set several months ago. I was hoping Universal would FINALLY be giving us the definitive versions of both flicks. The results are a mixed bag.

The colors look great and the sound mixes are much improved, but both transfers are wrongly framed. They appear to have been zoomed in and cropped. If you've seen the original Billy Madison DVD and compare the two, you'll see lots of visual information cropped off the top and bottom of the picture. It looks awful and is really distracting. We're talking cutting off the heads of characters and scenery.

The discs have some really grainy deleted scenes, most of which are second takes and jokes that didn't work. Why did Universal screw with these flicks??

In my teens, when Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore came out, these two movies were very heavily quoted by my friends and I. This was where Adam Sandler broke out of his SNL persona and came into his own - and where his fans were born. Both movies are hilarious and you have to appreciate the bonus material included on the special edition DVDs in this collection. The characters of Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore are both essentially the character of the on-screen Adam Sandler, which is what fans want to see. His comedy is inventive and unique - and these movies were our first real glimpse at the depth of his comedic abilities outside of SNL sketches.

Regardless of the negative reviews this DVD collection has received due to supposed problems with the visual formatting and such, I love it. I knew these movies well and I see nothing different in these DVD versions. They look and sound great.

Highly Recommended.

It is hard to believe that after Memorial Day that Sandler will have made 12 movies since these. Both of these movies are worth repeated watches; however, don't be fooled by the "new bonus features". The deleted scenes are far less produced that the final film, and the dialogue is almost impossible to hear in some scenes. The bloopers are not that funny either. That being said, these are still two fine movies. The main draw to me for the combo set was that I could get the widescreen version which I had previously been unable to find. If this is not important to you, you will probably be better off trying to find them separately. Finally, each movie on its own is worth 4 stars, but I knocked down my rating because of what I have mentioned above.

In some respects, Adam Sandler has come a long way since Billy Madison, his first starring role after four years on Saturday Night Live. Recently, he has starred in Paul Thomas Anderson's Technicolor romantic comedy, Punch-Drunk Love and James L. Brook's comic drama, Spanglish. Happy Gilmore helped establish a strong fan base and demonstrated his bankability. He has never looked back since, cranking out one box office hit after another. Universal has gone back to the well and re-packaged his first two solo efforts in one set with re-mastered transfers and bonus material that fans will enjoy.

On the Billy Madison DVD there are six deleted scenes totaling 33 minutes. There are lots of small bits and pieces that were rightfully trimmed (including one where Billy does nothing but scratch his ass).

There are three minutes of outtakes. Nothing terribly exciting or all that funny.

Also included are production notes.

Finally, there is an audio commentary by the film's director, Tamra Davis. This is a pretty boring, uninvolving track as Davis points out a scene that she didn't direct and she knows this because she would never have picked the sweater that Sandler wears in the scene. Yawn.

Sadly, the stronger of the two movies, Happy Gilmore, doesn't have as many extras. There are six deleted scenes that run 20 minutes, including the introduction of Happy's golf clubs and more footage of his golfing misadventures.

There is also a five minute reel of outtakes which is a pretty funny collection of blown lines and goofs.

Finally, there are production notes.

The Billy Madison/Happy Gilmore Collection shows the beginnings of Adam Sandler's evolution as a box office heavyweight with his own particular brand of comedy. It is nice to finally have these films in their original aspect ratio and with a smattering of extras. Fans of both films will no doubt enjoy everything they have to offer.

Happy Gilmore is about a hockey player who can never seem to get onto the team, although he has a great shot. His grandmother hasn't paid her taxes in 10 years, so the IRS is threatening him of taking her possessions and her house if they aren't paid in 80 days. Happy joins up with Chubs, an ex-golfer, who had to quit playing due to the fact that an alligator bit his hand off. Happy has to make enough money to buy his grandmother's house back, however, his arch nemesis, Shooter McGavin, wants to make sure that he can't achieve his goal. This is one of Adam's best.

Billy Madison is funny too. It's about a 27 year old who does nothing but goof off all day. His father is planning to retire soon, and although he wants to give Billy the company, he thinks that Billy isn't mature enough to handle such a big business, so instead, he wants to give the company to Eric. Billy tries to prove to his father that he is worthy by going back to school, finishing each grade in two weeks. Eric tries to prevent him from succeeding by using rather odd techniques. This is a cult classic.

There was a time when Adam Sandler was unstoppable. After seeing the movie 'Big Daddy', I remember him achieving almost God-like status with anyone in the 12-25 age range. The guy was hilarious. I know most people are happy about the change that has come over his movies, but I hate it. It pains me to watch movies like 'Mr. Deeds', when he used to make movies like 'Billy Madison' & 'Happy Gilmore'. These two movies are Sandler doing what he does best....making people laugh.

Of the two movies, 'Happy Gilmore' definately stands the test of time better. I won't go over the plot of the films, as you have probably already seen them multiple times. I just remember 'Billy Madison' being absolutely hilarious. I don't know if I have just gotten older and have different tastes, but the flick doesn't make me laugh as much as it used to. 'Happy Gilmore', however, remains the funniest golf movie ever made (in my opinion).

The thing I like about these movies is they don't try to be more than what they are. You will be reciting lines from these two films to your friends for years. Scene after scene is just classic Sandler. They have classic characters and great cameos to go along with the hilarious writing. While I think the immature comedy of 'Billy Madison' feels dated just a bit, 'Happy Gilmore' retains a fresh feel that I feel is timeless. These are two classic, 'leave your brain at the door' comedies. So have some friends over, get a 12-pack and laugh away. Just don't go into it expecting 'Punch-Drunk Love'. Thank the heavens for that!

Special Features: These are "special editions"? I know the original discs were completely bare-bones, but these are not what I would call "special editions". There are deleted scenes and outtakes for both films. Most of the scenes are pointless and you will be glad they left them out of the film. 'Billy Madison' has the better of the deleted scenes, while 'Happy Gilmore's are terrible. And that's about it for the supplements. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much more than this but I am still disappointed. How hard would it have been to make a featurette or something? Just pure laziness is at fault here.

This is a great deal if you are a Adam Sandler fan. Two very funny movies that can be watched over and over again. Great value!

I'll write a short review, both these films were fantastic and it shows us why Adam Sandler was one of the best and funniest cast members from SNL, Sandler's dumb and juvinile humor is perfect for these films so just kick back and enjoy don't take these films too seriously. Billy, the heir to the Madison hotel millions has wasted his life with booze, partying and hanging out with his dumb and lazy friends since leaving school.
When he discovers his father's plan to turn his fortune over to his Vice president, Billy decides to go back to school and make up for lost time. Very funny scenes involving Billy interacting with the young kids who all seem to think that hes slightly retarded and one scene that I thought was priceless was when a car with a family who all seem to be bullies slips on a banana peal and falls of a cliff while there still chanting O'Doyle rules, I guess you have to be in a silly mood to enjoy this or a good sense of humor.
Happy Gilmore is an ice hockey player with a bad temper his confrontational attitude is what gets him kicked out from the team so Gilmore tries golf instead and gets trained by Chubbs (hilarious role by Carl Weathers) also check out the annoying Shooter McGavin who is Gilmore's rival and Kevin Nealon whos low key performance was hillarious I had tears in my eyes. You also get the fantastic fight scene with T.V. show host Bob Barker. Yes both movies are dumb but they are slapstick goofball comedies and you are gaurnteed to enjoy them, I definetly recomend these films for a good laugh.

At long last, a Widescreen of Happy Gilmore!!! Miracles do happen. 'Happy' is Sandler's funniest movie. New deleted scenes only add to the funnybone. 'Billy' is a stitch as well. It also has deleted scenes. I owned both of these seperately, but the twin pack is a must for any comedy or Sandler fan. His early work is his funniest, especially "Happy Gilmore." Trade in your old ones and bring home this twin pack. It is worth every dime!

ok, here's the scoop. If you like any comedy movies, then these are for you. Happy gilmore has some of the better comedy that isn't trying to stay clean that i've seen in a long time. It is one of the reasons that a golf movie is actually funny. And Billy Madison? an adult with a maturity of a 6 yr. old? how is this not funny? you know what those editorials need? a little of that annoying man.

"You suck! You Jackass!"