Nette's Thoughts: July 2025

Monday, July 28, 2025

Movie; Happy Gilmore 2 (2025) Caution Spoiler Alert

Happy Gilmore 2

Came out; 2025

Time; 1 hours 54 Minutes

Watched: Netlfix

Rated: PG-13 for strong language, crude/sexual material, partial nudity and some thematic material

IMDB Rating; 6.3/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 67%

Popcorn Meter 71%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore

Julie Bowen as Virginia

Christopher McDonald as Shooter McGavin

Benny Safdie as Frank Manatee

Ben Stiller as Hal L

Bad Bunny as Oscar Mejias

John Daly as Himself

Dennis Dugan as Doug Thompson

Haley Joel Osmet as Billy Jenkins

Lavell Crawford as Slim Peterson

Jackie Sandler as Monica

Sadie Sandler as Charlotte

Sunny Sandler as Vienna

Maxwell Friedman as Gordie

Philip Schneider as Bobby

Ethan Cutkosky as Wayne

Conor Sherry as Terry

Steve Buscemi as Bad Neighbor Pat

Story Line;

Revisit Happy Gilmore's golf career after his win in the tour championship

Thoughts:

Of course, I watched this as soon as it was available. I love the original

The cameos in this one are off the wall and I was there for every single second.

It seemed to play in flashbacks and real time back and forth, but it was great

I thought it was well put together, the cast was great, the story line was good, and it was a nice “this is what happened after the first movie, movie”

So far not too many quotes, the first one brought us many but I'm sure some will stick

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

After winning his first Tour Championship in 1996, Happy Gilmore has a successful golf career, winning five more championships. He also has five children with his wife Virginia Venit. After accidentally killing Virginia in 2014 when one of his drives hits her in the head, Happy feels devastated and quits golf out of guilt. He soon becomes an alcoholic and loses everything after a repossession worker sues him for instigating a brawl when mistaking the worker for a car thief.

Eleven years later, Happy works at a supermarket and lives with his only daughter and youngest child Vienna, while his four sons—Gordie, Wayne, Bobby, and Terry—have all moved out and are working to support their father and sister. Vienna wants to pursue dancing, and her dance teacher recommends enrolling in a four-year ballet school in Paris, which costs $75,000 yearly. Frank Manatee, CEO of Maxi Energy Drink and the upcoming golf league Maxi Golf, later approaches Happy and wants him to be the league's star. Happy refuses but resumes playing golf with encouragement from John Daly, wanting to win enough money to put Vienna through ballet school.

During his first game since Virginia died, Happy gets heavily drunk and crashes his golf cart, which gets him fired from his job and in legal trouble. A jury agrees to remove all charges if he completes an alcohol treatment program and refrains from any physical altercations. This treatment program's leader turns out to be Hal L., the caretaker who abused Happy's grandmother.

Vienna and John advise Happy to practice seriously and to join the next Tour Championship, which he does. Happy meets old companions, including Doug Thompson, president of the Tour, who worries about Maxi Golf rising fast. After Happy suggests having a competition between the two leagues, Doug proposes a match with the five best players from each league competing against each other. Happy, with help from his new caddie Oscar Mejías, makes a good performance at the Tour Championship in the first three rounds, but collapses in the fourth round on Mother's Day, seeing visions of Virginia on the field before getting drunk, finishing sixth. The winner, Billy Jenkins, admits to actually being in Maxi Golf, having participated in the Tour Championship as a taunt, vacating his place on the team and enabling Happy to join.

Having been in psychiatric care since losing to Happy at the 1996 Tour Championship,[a] Shooter McGavin is granted a release by Frank. He explains to Shooter that all players on Maxi Golf, including Billy, have their iliolumbar ligament severed, increasing their driving distance, and asks him to join as their captain. Disgusted with this and how much Frank's "extreme" version of golf strays from the traditional game, Shooter escapes. Having heard about Virginia's death, Shooter visits her grave and briefly fights Happy there before they call a truce. Happy later meets Slim Peterson, Chubbs' son, who joins Shooter in coaching Happy, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler to face Maxi Golf.

During the match-up, Scottie gets disqualified in the first round for punching his opponent. Although the field is heavily designed to advantage Maxi Golf, as all their golfers are long drivers, the traditional golfers manage to make it 2-2, with the help of Shooter, who replaces Brooks after he gets injured. Happy and Billy then face off in a tie-breaker. Happy has a chance to putt for victory, but Frank alters the green to make it impossible to putt. He then makes a deal with Happy: if Happy misses the putt, Happy must join Maxi Golf. Otherwise, Frank must discontinue Maxi Golf, buy Happy's house back, pay for Vienna's ballet school, give Happy his new electric car, and open a new Italian restaurant for Oscar. With help from the lattermost, Happy sinks the putt and wins.

When Happy celebrates his three-month sobriety, Hal is exposed as a con artist and gets arrested. Maxi Energy Drink is discontinued after being revealed to cause significant oral health issues, leaving Frank in ruin and in hiding. Happy later accompanies his kids at an airport as they fly off to Paris, promising to join them before completing the British Open.

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Movie: The Last Showgirl (2024) Caution Spoiler Alert

The Last Showgirl

Came out; 2024

Time; 1 hours 28 Minutes

Watched: Hulu

Rated: R for language and nudity

IMDB Rating; 6.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 83%

Popcorn Meter 72%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Pamela Anderson as Shelly

Brenda Song as Mary-Anne

Kiernan Shipka as Jodie

Dave Bautista as Eddie

Jamie Lee Curtis as Annette

Billie Lourd as Hannah

Story Line;

When the glittering Las Vegas revue she has headlined for decades announces it will soon close, glamorous showgirl Shelly sets out to plan her next act. Reconciling the decisions she's made and the community she has built, Shelly decides to repair her complicated relationship with her daughter.

Thoughts:

This was a great movie! Pamela Anderson & Jamie Lee Curtis play the “old lady stuck in a job” to a perfect T

The younger cast was also perfect!

This shows the dynamic of behind the scenes of all the glitz and glimmer of Vegas!

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Shelly Gardner is a 57-year-old showgirl who has performed for three decades in Le Razzle Dazzle, a classic French-style revue on the Las Vegas Strip. Her co-stars include several younger women like Mary-Anne and Jodie, who view Shelly as a mother figure. Shelly's older friend, Annette, maintains a close relationship with her, despite having been ousted from the show years prior, and now works as a cocktail waitress.

Eddie, the producer of the show, breaks the news that Le Razzle Dazzle is due to close in two weeks due to declining ticket sales, to be replaced by a more contemporary, neo-burlesque circus show that had already taken over their most popular nights. Shelly is crestfallen by the news, and views the replacement show as obscene and garish. Mary-Anne and Jodie begin auditioning for roles in other shows on the Las Vegas Strip, despite Shelly's objections that they are low-class and too risqué. With no means for retirement and few resources, Shelly worries for her future and livelihood.

Shelly reaches out to her semi-estranged daughter Hannah, who has lived with family friends for much of her adolescence and is now a college student in Arizona. Hannah visits Shelly at her home, but their reunion is marred by Hannah's emotional distance and Shelly's lack of knowledge about her daughter, forgetting Hannah's age and asking if she has declared a major months before her graduation. Hannah declines dinner with Shelly that night, but returns the following night and they enjoy each other's company.

Hannah secretly attends a Le Razzle Dazzle performance, and afterwards confronts Shelly in the dressing room, offended that her mother prioritized her career over raising her. Shelly storms out and Hannah briefly meets Eddie before leaving. Jodie comes by Shelly's place, distraught because her own mother will not talk to her, but Shelly, still reeling from the confrontation with Hannah, coldly rebuffs her. At the next show, Jodie refuses to help Shelly get ready, leading her to rip part of her costume as she rushes to the stage and ultimately miss her cue, breaking down on the floor backstage.

Shelly invites Eddie to dinner, where she discusses her future and feelings of alienation as an aging woman, frustrated that Eddie can continue working for the casino as a producer of the new show while she will be left with nothing after thirty years at Le Razzle Dazzle. Through their conversation, it is revealed that Eddie is Hannah's father, a fact which neither of them has ever disclosed to Hannah. Eddie implies his disappointment about Shelly's upbringing of Hannah, while Shelly condemns Eddie for his failure to be present in Hannah's life.

Annette has her shifts cut early in favor of younger new hires. Annette later tells Shelly that she has gambled away all her money and has been living in her car for several weeks. She asks Shelly to let her live with her, and promises it will be only temporary.

Shelly auditions at a casting call also attended by Mary-Anne. The audition goes poorly, as Shelly is clearly nervous and unfamiliar with modern auditioning. The director interrupts Shelly's routine early and plainly tells her she is not a talented dancer, and only made up for it with youth and good looks when she was hired decades earlier at Le Razzle Dazzle. Shelly is shattered and humiliated, and Mary-Anne misses her own audition slot to console her and get her to leave the stage. Before driving off, Shelly berates Mary-Anne in her grief over giving up her life for this unforgiving industry, telling her she is not their mother and she does not love them.

Shelly leaves Hannah an apologetic voicemail, reconciles with Jodie and Mary-Anne and tells Eddie she is considering moving to Arizona so she can be present for Hannah's graduation, but also considering working as a cocktail waitress like Annette. At the final performance of Le Razzle Dazzle, Shelly envisions Hannah smiling at her backstage, and watching in the audience with Eddie.

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Movie: Mickey 17 (2025) Caution Spoiler Alert

Mickey 17

Came out; 2025

Time; 2 hours 17 Minutes

Watched: Max

Rated: R for violent content, language throughout, sexual content and drug material

IMDB Rating; 6.8/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 77%

Popcorn Meter 73%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes

Steven Yeun as Timo

Michael Monroe as Matthew

Patsy Ferran as Dorothy

Milo James as Young Mickey

Naomi Ackie as Nasha

Mark Ruffalo as Kenneth Marshall

Toni Collette as Ylfa

Story Line;

Adapted from the novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, this stars Robert Pattinson as an "expendable" - a disposable crew member on a space mission, selected for dangerous tasks because his body can be reprinted if he dies, with his memories largely intact. With one regeneration, though, things go very wrong

Thoughts:

This started out as a quaky dark comedy and then turned into a confusing mess

Hard to follow story line after the “two clones' rule” is broken. The ending was confusing

Mark Ruffalso and Toni Collette played their crazy to a T

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

In 2050, to escape a murderous loan shark, Mickey Barnes and his friend Timo join a spaceship crew to colonize the ice-planet Niflheim. Timo becomes a shuttle pilot, while Mickey joins as an "Expendable", a controversial job involving extremely dangerous tasks, with death resulting in a new clone of him with restored memories being created through a process called "reprinting". During the voyage, a romance develops between Mickey and security agent Nasha.

Four years later, the spaceship arrives at Niflheim. After experimenting on and sacrificing multiple iterations of Mickey as a guinea pig, the ship's scientists develop a vaccine for the planet's pathogens. The seventeenth Mickey is sent to capture a native life form dubbed "Creepers", but falls into a fissure. Timo retrieves Mickey's valuable flamethrower but, out of convenience, leaves Mickey to die. The Creepers swarm Mickey, but instead of eating him, they carry him to the surface.

Mickey returns to the ship and is surprised to find an aggressive[a] Mickey 18 has been printed. The expedition's leader, politician Kenneth Marshall, has sworn that in the event of "Multiples" of clones, all clones will be eliminated. As a result, Mickey 18 attempts to kill Mickey 17, but 17 suggests they secretly rotate duties and deaths to survive. The two are interrupted when they witness Timo selling flamethrower fuel as drugs. Furious at Timo's abuses, Mickey 18 tries to kill Timo, but relents when they are interrupted by Nasha. 18 leaves with Nasha, while 17 is taken to dinner with Marshall, his wife Ylfa, and security agent Kai. At the dinner, Mickey 17 reacts severely to being fed experimental meat and painkillers. Kai saves Mickey 17 from being executed and brings him to her quarters, but Mickey 17 flees back to Nasha when Kai attempts to seduce him.

Nasha learns of the clones and accepts them, but Kai stumbles across the trio and tries to report them. When Mickey 17 informs 18 of the dinner incident, an enraged 18 decides to kill Marshall at a public ceremony unveiling a Niflheim rock to commemorate the expedition. Two baby Creepers, Luko and Zoco, emerge from the rock, causing panic. Mickey 17 captures Zoco, but Luko is killed by security when it startles Marshall. Nasha stops Mickey 18 from killing Marshall, but the Multiples are exposed, leading to Mickey 17, 18, and Nasha's arrest.

Meanwhile, thousands of Creepers gather outside the ship, calling for Zoco. In the brig, Mickey 17's description of the Creepers helping him causes Nasha to realize they are sentient. Timo arrives to dismember Mickey 17 on orders from the loan shark, who has an agent on the expedition. Mickey 18 offers to take 17's place in a ruse, allowing Nasha to escape and overpower Timo, but security intervenes and takes them all to Marshall.

Marshall announces his plan to eliminate the Creepers, and destroys Mickey's memory backups to prevent him from being reprinted. Ylfa convinces Marshall to make the Mickeys go outside and compete to collect Creeper tails for culinary usage, with the winner allowed to live. The Mickeys are fitted with remote-detonated bomb vests to ensure compliance.

Once outside, the Mickeys seek out the Creepers' leader. Marshall follows with a security team to eliminate them and the Creepers when they do not follow through with their task. Mickey 17 uses a translation device to warn the mother Creeper about Marshall's plan, and the mother demands Zoco's release and the sacrifice of a human in compensation for Luko's death. Mickey 17 signals to Nasha to free Zoco. She takes Ylfa hostage to ensure Zoco's release, and security agents, secretly working against Marshall, arrest Ylfa. Mickey 18 fights Marshall and detonates his vest, killing himself and Marshall to meet the Creepers' demands.

Afterwards, Mickey 17 and the rest of the expedition make peace with the Creepers, Marshall and Ylfa's collaborators face justice, and Ylfa kills herself. The loan shark associate attacks Timo, but Timo kills him in self-defense and uses the incident to testify against the loan shark. Nasha joins the colony's leadership council. Spring arrives and during the colony's groundbreaking ceremony, Mickey 17, now called Mickey Barnes once again, destroys the cloning device, ending the Expendable program.