This article contains spoilers for Happy Gilmore 2. Apparently, Happy Gilmore cannot actually be happy. Happy Gilmore 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 1996 comedy, starts with a shocker: Happy (Adam Sandler) reveals via a montage of flashbacks that after several wonderful years and five (!) kids together, he accidentally killed the love of his life, Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen), with a shanked shot to the head at one of his golf tournaments. Naturally, this sent Happy's life into a complete tailspin, effectively ending his career, but paving the way for a redemption arc in the sequel. "[Happy's] the best, but he did need to have something — you need to have some adversity," Bowen, seated next to costars Sandler and Christopher McDonald for this interview, explains to Entertainment Weekly. Adds Sandler, who cowrote the film with Tim Herlihy, "Happy definitely is in pain." "Yes, Happy is in pain," Bowen agrees. "And he had to get there somehow. And I contribute to the pain through the heart. I think it is very relatable and wonderful. I loved it." The Modern Family star, who also played the character in the original, was honored, and a little surprised, to be in the sequel. "I was thrilled, and I've said that I didn't even think... he didn't need to put me in this movie," she says. At this, Sandler cuts her off, asking incredulously, "What are you talking about?" Much like her character, Virginia, might say, Bowen jokes, "Shut up, I'm telling the story!" But Sandler is unfazed. "It wasn't even a thought of not putting you in," he tells her. "We were a happy couple at the end of the movie." "And Happy Gilmore can't be happy," Bowen adds, to which Sandler concludes, "Happy Gilmore's in love and dedicated, and only can think of you. Virginia Venit." This is evident even with the character's death. Though she's long gone by the film's beginning, Bowen pops up throughout via flashbacks, dreams, and ghostly visions. But as for that one fatal scene, Bowen teases, "It was fun to shoot." This prompts a Happy Gilmore-esque smirk out of Sandler, who concludes, "Yeah. Yeah, that's true. That was really fun. It was fun to watch." Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. That sentiment is emblematic of his experience returning to the fairway of Happy Gilmore as a whole. "You couldn't have a nicer vibe. It was just the whole thing. There wasn't like a particular day, you didn't want any day to end. You were with somebody you loved and somebody you just met that you idolized," he says, citing guest star and golf legend Jack Nicklaus as a specific example. "It was a kind of legendary shoot," he adds. "It's a shoot that we'll never have again in our life, probably. Every day, you just go, well, that's going to be a fun day." In addition to Sandler and Bowen, McDonald also reprises his role as Happy's rival Shooter McGavin. The film also features several real golf pros and a starry cast, including, Benny Safdie, Ben Stiller, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, John Daly, Haley Joel Osment, Jackie Sandler, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Philip Schneider, Ethan Cutkosky, Conor Sherry, Kevin Nealon, Lavell Crawford, Kym Whitley, John Farley, and more. Happy Gilmore 2 is now streaming on Netflix.