Four Netflix movies to stream if you loved ‘The Hawk’
Golf comedies have never been big on dignity, and The Hawk bins it almost straight away. Will Ferrell plays Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins, a former golfing legend whose career is hanging by a thread. He won’t hear a word of it, though. As far as Lonnie’s concerned, he has still got it. The audacity on him is unreal.
He is desperate to complete a career Grand Slam, so he decides to give the comeback one last go. Take a guess; it starts falling apart almost immediately. His game has gone shaky, and his family are sick of his carry-on. In fact, his son is making a name for himself without turning every day into a dramatic event.
The Netflix comedy was created by Ferrell, Harper Steele and Chris Henchy. It also brings Ferrell back together with his former Saturday Night Live co-star Molly Shannon. The best part is, real golfers pop up throughout the series too, which gives the whole thing a bit more bite.
If The Hawk worked for you because it used sport to explore one man’s difficult attempt to rebuild his life, these four Netflix movies make natural follow-ups.
Four Netflix movies to stream if you loved The Hawk
Happy Gilmore 2 (Kyle Newacheck, 2025)
The most obvious one after The Hawk is Happy Gilmore 2, because here we go again: a golfer trying to fix a life that has gone west. Years after leaving the professional game, Happy is drinking heavily and working in a supermarket when his daughter Vienna earns a place at an expensive ballet school in Paris. Lovely, isn’t it? But all that until he sees the fees. Are you serious? Needing money, he gets his clubs out and battles Frank Manatee’s Maxi Golf league. Go ahead, Happy.
Adam Sandler returns alongside Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald and Bad Bunny as Happy’s new caddie, Oscar. Like Lonnie Hawkins, Happy still reckons one unusual talent can undo years of terrible decisions. You sure about that, man? Ben Stiller returns as Hal, while professional golfers and celebrities fill the courses. Nearly 30 years later, the brass neck is unbelievable.
Home Team (Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane, 2022)
Home Team starts where The Hawk leaves off: with a sportsman discovering his career has damaged things at home. Kevin James plays Saints coach Sean Payton, who returns to Texas during his NFL suspension and realises he barely knows his son, Connor. Imagine needing a suspension to realise that. Nevertheless, hoping to sort things out, Sean helps Connor’s struggling youth football team alongside coach Troy Lambert. Turns out, his methods work.
Honestly, then Sean gets so obsessed with winning that he risks pushing Connor away again. No learning from mistakes here. The film is loosely based on Payton’s 2012 suspension and the season he helped coach his son’s team. In fact, Payton appears as a janitor in the film. In the end, trophies cannot repair a neglected relationship. Really? Who knew? At least he gets there eventually, so we will let him off.
Mascots (Christopher Guest, 2016)
The next film, Mascots, takes competitive sport so seriously that everyone involved looks ridiculous. The mockumentary follows performers arriving at the Fluffies, where people in costumes compete to become the best mascot. Yes, really! The world’s best mascot. Among them are couple Mike and Mindy Murray, performer Owen Golly Jr. and mascot Cindi Babineaux. Their routines involve dancing and slapstick, but the arguments about what mascot performance should mean are intense.
Instead of sticking with one comeback like The Hawk, the film jumps between people who need applause like oxygen. Christopher Guest directed and co-wrote the film, continuing the improvised mockumentary style associated with Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show. He also returns as Corky St. Clair, one of his best-known characters. The humour is drier than Will Ferrell’s golf comedy, but both films understand how ambition can turn an apparently silly competition into a matter of personal survival.
The Main Event (Jay Karas, 2020)
Last in the list is The Main Event, which follows Leo Thompson, an eleven-year-old boy who dreams of becoming a WWE superstar but spends his time dodging school bullies. Then he finds a mask that gives him strength and a voice like he has swallowed a nightclub bouncer. Amazing, isn’t it? With his nan Denise backing him and his dad struggling for money, Leo enters a WWE talent contest as Kid Chaos. Go ahead, boy, fill your boots.
The mask gets him noticed by promoter Frankie and lands him opposite units like Samson. You sure about this, Leo? The film is dafter than The Hawk, but both are about people thinking sport will sort their lives out. Kofi Kingston, The Miz and Sheamus pop up too. Under all the body slams, Leo realises that courage is not something a costume can lend you. That is right, kid.