Content Starts Here
Click film review
CLICK
Running time: 129 mins
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken, David Hasselhoff, Henry Winkler, Julie Kavner
A few minutes into Click, in which Adam Sandler plays an over-stressed architect who acquires a magical remote control device, I longed for a similar device so I could fast-forward to the end of the movie. A garbled mess, Click suffers from an identity crisis, uncertain of whether it wants to be a sentimental tale of redemption or an amusing series of crude, dumb gags. As a result, it fails on both counts.
Having a family dog humping a large stuffed duck might be mildly amusing to some for a nano-second, but to expand it into a sub-plot smacks of a paucity of ideas, while fart jokes are the last resort of the uninspired. Click is full of examples of such dubious humour that grates not because it's tasteless or unfunny (which it is) but because for the most part it has absolutely nothing to do with the story.
This is the third collaboration between director Frank Coraci and his school friend Sandler following The Wedding Singer and The Waterboy. Sandler plays Michael Newman whose long hours at the architectural firm run by his unsympathetic boss (David Hasselhoff) have driven him to a near breakdown and put a strain on family life with his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and two young kids. One night, when trying to watch TV, but thwarted by the dizzying array of remote control devices, he cries out for one remote that would control everything.
His wish is fulfilled during a trip to the local branch of Bed, Bath & Beyond where, behind a door intriguingly labeled 'Way Beyond' he encounters the enigmatic Morty (Christopher Walken). A singing, dancing mad-scientist type, Morty hands Michael a universal remote control that, he explains, will remotely control his universe. When he mutes the barking family dog and pauses his wife mid sentence, Michael realizes the device is a little more powerful than he was anticipating. He discovers he is able to rewind and fast-forward any part of his life, a feature he relishes when faced with something unpleasant like an argument with his wife. But when the device assumes control of Michael's life, he begins to realize that even the bad moments are precious.
One of the keys to Sandler's success is an innate likeability, a naïve clownishness. It's a quality all too absent here as the mean, self-centered, tightly wound Michael shows few redeeming features. It's certainly a mystery how he attracted such a beautiful and implausibly tolerant wife. Inspired by the moment screenwriter Steve Koren aimed a remote at his girlfriend and jokingly pressed the mute - something she found less than amusing - Click offered Koren and writing partner Mark O'Keefe the opportunity to come up with every joke they could think of about the use of such a remote. And that's the film's problem. If they'd thought more about creating real characters and a story instead of just relying on a gimmicky premise as a vehicle to hang stupid jokes on, the outcome might have clicked.
Kevin Murphy
Font size
Mail
My account
Help
Community
Print now
Send to a friend
Related articles
Related products
