10 Movie Characters Who Were Killed Off Way Too Soon

10. Virginia - Happy Gilmore 2

As a legacy sequel, coming 29 years after the original, Happy Gilmore 2 offered little more than what anyone could have expected. The story of Happy (Adam Sandler) learning to play golf was largely similar to the original, the same jokes were made, and, of course, Happy won in the end.

One of the only genuinely surprising moments came when Happy's wife, Virginia (Julie Bowen), was killed off literally three minutes into the film. Happy sliced a shot, it sailed towards Virginia, and in the next scene, he was talking about her funeral.

Both Virginia herself and her relationship with Happy were crucial aspects to the original movie, and the fact that Julie Bowen was returning at all was huge for the sequel. To kill her off so soon not only seems like an odd decision, but it feels completely unnecessary, as the film robbed itself of a great character and a great actor.

Bowen and director Kyle Newacheck may have defended the decision, with the former saying that Happy shouldn't be happy, and the latter going so far as to say that without the death there wouldn't be a story, but this isn't true. Happy fighting to get his daughter into an expensive dance school would have absolutely worked with Virginia still alive.