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Happy Gilmore 2: Does Julie Bowen's character die? What happens to Virginia Venit
‘Happy Gilmore 2’ sees Julie Bowen play Virginia Venit, Happy Gilmore's wife.
‘Happy Gilmore 2' returns after almost 30 years of the original, but Adam Sandler's sports comedy remains one for the ages. There's a lot that makes the original iconic – and one of the factors is Julie Bowen in a lingerie carrying two pitchers of beer!
Bowen, appeared as Virginia Venit, Happy Gilmore's love interest in the first movie. She was otherwise a buttoned-up professional, so seeing her that way in the ‘Happy Place’ served as a fun departure.
Speaking about the lingerie scene in the original, Bowen – now known for Modern Family – told Cinemablend, “When I read it in the first script it’s what made me love the first script. You don’t know how great those performances are going to be. You don’t know they’re actually gonna get Carl Weathers or anything. You’re just reading it going ‘I think it’s funny but I’m not sure.’ And I get to that scene and I laughed out loud 30 years ago at two pitchers of beer. And I thought ‘I want this'.”
The iconic lingerie scene makes a comeback in the sequel as well, but there's a twist. Read on to know more, but be careful of spoilers ahead!
Does Julie Bowen's character die on Happy Gilmore 2?
Yes, Julie Bowen's character dies early in ‘Happy Gilmore 2’. She is hit by a golf ball on Mother's Day, from a shot hit by Happy, and dies.
This serves as the launching point of the story, as Happy vows never to golf again. Also, when Virginia Venit – mother to his five children – passes away, Happy works at a Stop & Shop and drowns himself in alcohol. However, he faces financial constraints when his daughter wants to go to a fancy dance school.
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To overcome these, Happy must return to golfing.
Despite being killed off in the first couple of minutes, this is not the end of the road for Bowen. As ‘Happy Gilmore’ has shown before, the movie's universe is not tied to one metaphysical plane, and accordingly, in the sequel, Julie Bowen's character visits Happy in his dreams, alongside the younger version of herself from the original, donning the lingerie and carrying beer. She encourages Happy to be a golfer once more.
Speaking more of her original appearance in the lingerie, Bowen told Cinemablend “I’ve always seen that as hilarious and funny and a sendup of sex pinups. I never felt objectified by that at all. So when it’s coming back I was like ‘I don’t know if I can still put it on.’ That’s the only thing I was afraid of,” adding, “I always felt completely respected and in control of all of it.”
