Julie Bowen Had Good Reason to Think She’d Be Replaced by Sydney Sweeney in ‘Happy Gilmore 2’
One of the most anticipated comedies of the summer is, of course, Happy Gilmore 2, the sequel to the beloved Adam Sandler comedy about the wannabe hockey player-turned-professional golfer who somehow wasn’t banned from the sport for life after brawling with a senior citizen in the middle of a tournament.
As evidenced by the recently-released trailer, the new movie will be absolutely crammed full of cameos from big name celebrities, including Eminem, Bad Bunny, Travis Kelce and every recognizable pro golfer who’s still alive. It will also feature a number of returning cast from the original film, including Ben Stiller as Hal L. and Christopher McDonald as the villainous shit-eating Shooter McGavin.
Plus, Julie Bowen will be reprising her role as Happy’s love interest Virginia Venit — which came as a big shock to Bowen.
While making an appearance at Netflix’s Tudum event, Bowen told The Hollywood Reporter that when she first heard about the sequel, she just assumed that she wouldn’t be asked to participate in it. “I thought, ‘Well I won’t be in it,'” the Modern Family star itted.
Bowen went on to explain that she figured Happy would have a younger love interest in the new movie. “And that was okay — it was like Virginia Venit, it’s been 30 years, he’s got a hottie. He’s got some little bitty on the side, like a cart girl,” Bowen said. “As a matter of fact my children told me, before I was even told officially that there was a Happy Gilmore sequel, my now 18-year-old said, ‘Mom, I hear they’re doing a sequel, and he’s with Sydney Sweeney as a cart girl.'”
Rumors that Sweeney would be playing “Cart Girl” in the movie did indeed circulate online, but they ended up being totally bogus. “I went, I’m hurt, and I so respect that move,” Bowen confessed. “Of course, why wouldn’t you? So when I got the call that I was actually in it, I was like, ‘Are you sure? Come on.'”
Bowen’s concerns about being replaced with a younger actress were hardly unfounded. Although Hollywood loves sequelizing decades-old franchises, these nostalgic cash-grabs often sideline female characters from the original properties, lest moviegoers find out that women over 40 exist.
For example, when we got a third Bill & Ted movie, their royal love interests were suddenly more than 10 years younger than Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. And Top Gun: Maverick brought back Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer and homoerotic beach sports, but Kelly McGillis, now in her 60s, wasn’t invited to participate. Instead Cruise was paired with Jennifer Connelly, and praised for “acting his age” because she was only nine years younger than him. Similarly, Sean Young only showed up in de-aged form in Blade Runner 2049, and Kelly MacDonald was largely absent in T2 Trainspotting.
But while Bowen is definitely a part of Happy Gilmore 2, fans have also noticed that there’s something odd about the footage of her in the trailer, which kind of makes it seem like her Virginia may have died between movies. And Adam Sandler’s real-life wife Jackie has a role in the film, along with their daughters, perhaps suggesting that Happy remarried after Virginia’s death?
So at least Sandler isn’t being a big creep — but he may be extremely dedicated to keeping his family employed.
