Click: Movie Review

Directed by:
Frank Coraci

Written by:
Steve Koren
Mark O'Keefe

Over the past five years or so Adam Sandler has been trying to show audiences another side. With films like Punch Drunk Love (2002) and Spanglish (2004) under his belt, Sandler's done a pretty decent job of shedding his SNL alter ego, and shown the world that he's much more than a silly comedian with funny voices. His newest film, Click, is like a hybrid of the two Sandler's we've come to know. Simply put, if you were to toss Billy Madison (1995) and Punch Drunk Love into a blender, you'd get Click.

The film follows Michael Newman (Sandler), an architect who's having a hard time balancing a successful career and being a father to his children and husband to his wife Donna (Kate Beckinsale). Luckily, a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond in search of a universal remote introduces him to Morty (Christopher Walken), an oddball inventor who's lab is located in the "beyond" section of the store. Morty gives Michael a remote, and pretty soon he discovers that it gives him the power of his personal universe - enabling him to fast forward and rewind through time as if it were a DVD.

During the first part of the movie, we see the SNL Sandler as he discovers all the wacky and great things he can do with his remote. We see him use it to rewind back to the 80s to remember the name of the song that was playing the first time he and his wife met. We laugh as he discovers that his life has a commentary recorded by James Earl Jones. Some of the features on the remote are quite funny, and Sandler plays the humor well, but the film tone then suddenly undergoes a massive shift.

The dramatic change occurs when the remote starts skipping years of Michael's life at random. He misses important milestones in his children's lives, finds out his marriage is over, and that his career seems to be the only thing he cares about. It's a completely different movie.

While the second half of the movie isn't bad per say, the shift is too jarring, and doesn't give the audience enough time to settle in. We're introduced to a comedy film, and suddenly thrown into a melodramatic drama. Click would have been a much better film had the filmmakers sat down and thought about what type of movie they wanted to make. The film had potential either way - it could have been a very satisfying comedy, or an equally good drama. However, by trying to get the best of both worlds, the film falls flat. Somebody should have made a choice.

Rating: D-