Julie Bowen is dusting off her golf shoes — and her onscreen romance with Adam Sandler.
“I love Adam. He’s a very respectful person, especially when it comes to, like, a kissing scene or something,” Bowen, 55, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of Happy Gilmore 2’s release. “I always feel like I can drive that train. He’s like, ‘Oh, you’re gonna gimme the tongue?’ And I was like, ‘I might! I might do it.’ … He’s wonderful. I love this person. I mean, I’m not married to him. That’s [his wife] Jackie. He has a beautiful family. But I love him deeply. [It’s] so easy to play with him.”
Nearly 30 years after first teeing off as tour publicist Virginia Venit in the 1996 slapstick comedy Happy Gilmore, Bowen is back for the long-awaited sequel that hits Netflix on Friday, July 25. But thanks to her son, she wasn’t always sure she’d make the cut.
“[My son] said, ‘Who are you gonna play in [the sequel]? And I said, ‘Well, I would play, if it happened, Virginia Venit, of course,’” Bowen recalled saying. “He goes, ‘But how? You’re so much older.’ I said, ‘But Adam and Happy, they’re old [too]!’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, I think he would have a younger girlfriend.’ I was like, ‘Huh. He might.’”
The conversation ultimately planted a seed of doubt in Bowen’s mind, which only grew over time as she and Sandler kept missing each other’s phone calls. Eventually, Bowen shot her old costar a text telling him she “understood” if he wanted to go in a different direction.
“I said, ‘If this is about a sequel and I’m not in it, don’t worry. I get it. You need to evolve and change. I love you. I’m always rooting for all your success.’ And he calls me, like, ‘Can you just shut up so I can tell you — I want you in the movie!’” she said with a laugh.
Bowen is not the only familiar face to reprise their role in the sequel. Christopher McDonald comes back as Happy’s archenemy Shooter McGavin, and Ben Stiller once again plays Hal L., among many other returning stars. Some of the impressive new faces include The Substance’s Margaret Qualley, Travis Kelce and Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, a.k.a Bad Bunny, as Happy’s caddy.
As for Bowen’s role, Virginia is now Virginia Gilmore, and she and Happy share five children — the couple clearly have a “strong physical connection,” Bowen joked. In the film, Happy comes out of retirement to help pay for their daughter Vienna’s (played by Sandler’s 16-year-old daughter, Sunny) dream of attending an elite ballet school in Europe.
In true Sandler fashion, fans can expect plenty of laughs from the sequel, but according to Bowen, the movie’s emotional core hits closest to home as it’s rooted in family — something that reflects her own life as well as her leading man’s.
“[Virginia and Happy] both really connected over having a family and having kids and putting them first,” Bowen explained. “And that is ripped out of Adam’s life and mine. We both feel the same way. Like, it doesn’t really matter as long as the kids come first.” (Bowen shares son Oliver, 18, and twins John and Gustav, 16, with ex-husband Scott Phillips, while Adam shares daughters Sadie, 19, and Sunny with wife Jackie Sandler.)
Still, returning as Happy’s love interest was a little intimidating. “It was a lot less scary in 1996 [when] we shot Happy Gilmore, because Adam, he wasn’t unknown, but [he] didn’t have Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore and this list of people that he’s worked with over and over again,” she joked. “I was, you know, a little intimidated to be playing his girlfriend!”
Despite any nerves, the pair’s chemistry is still as strong as ever, both on screen and off. Bowen credits that bond to Adam’s upstanding and kind nature. It’s something she said hasn’t changed a bit over the past three decades.
“Everybody wants to feel like they’re home, and Adam does that for hundreds of people,” she told Us. “When he talks about all the cameos and the guest stars, he doesn’t talk about getting a good performance out of them. He talks about thanking them for giving up their time, for standing around for 12 hours and doing their part. That has never changed.”
Happy Gilmore 2 hits Netflix on Friday, July 25.
