Bohemian Cinema By Jonathan Pacheco

“Click” (2006)

Directed by Frank Coraci

Satisfaction:Disappointed Tags: Comedy, Adam Sandler, Sci-Fi, Future, Digital

Click is not what I expected it to be, yet, sadly, it is exactly what I expected it to be.

For those who saw the trailer and feared the film to be one of those “you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen the movie” situations, rest assured, because that is not the case with Click…in a way. But the actual film isn’t that much better.

Okay, the obligatory synopsis: Adam Sandler plays Michael Newman, your typical 21st century Movie Dad—the workaholic. He’s not abusive or a drunk, but his long hours cause him to neglect his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and two kids, all for what? His boss (David Hasselhoff) keeps promising to promote him to partnership but never seems to want to cash in on his word. So Sandler’s left frustrated by the time he gets home, only to be nagged by the familia.

One particularly vexing evening, Sandler sits at home, just wanting to watch some stupid video to help him research a make-or-break client, when he comes across a problem we can all identify with: too many remotes! This one turns on the TV, but which one plays the tape? No, that one turns on the fan. Nope, this one opens the garage door! Solution? The Universal Remote. Where does one get one of those puppies in the wee hours of the evening? Why, Bed, Bath & Beyond, of course! They have it all, Michael reasons. Or not. After searching everywhere with no luck, he plops on a model bed, only to catch a glimpse of a door tucked away in a corner, bearing a sign that reads “Beyond.”

“Beyond” lies Christopher Walken, playing the same kooky character that he always does (this time with kooky hair!), and he generously gives Sandler a literal Universal Remote. What ensues are the monotonous gags. Yes, it’s sort of funny at first when he can fast forward certain events or, through picture-in-picture, he can watch a ballgame while his sister-in-law cries and rants. But there comes a point when one begins to grow weary and bored with the gags, and you know they’re starting to run out when Sandler’s character freezes time just so he can fart in someone’s face. Classy.

At some point the movie eases up on the gags and takes off into a time-traveling story to pound us with its hammy moral that you can see coming a lightyear away. This is what I meant in the first line of this review; where the plot takes you for over half of the movie is not what you would expect, especially from the previews, but the way it handles the direction it takes is exactly the way any Sandler film (and others like it) try to fit the Square Peg of the Moral into the Round Hole of Comedy. That’s not to say that a comedy cannot say something important or be serious, but I’ve just grown sick and tired of the absolutely lazy technique that these films try to jam in the required “serious part.”

As you would expect, along with Walken, Sandler plays the same character he’s been playing for the last handful of movies he’s been in. The problem is that it’s an awkward mix between his two extremes (and the two extremes are where he works the best). In his older films, such as Billy Madison, his idiocy and silliness are so outrageous, I can’t help but laugh, and it’s almost charming in a way. On the other end, there’s the more serious and subdued version of Sandler found in Punch-Drunk Love, where sudden bursts of anger call for sympathy and even a little bit of fear. The Adam Sandler in Click is an ugly hybrid who is trying to be funny, but can’t be as edgy as in the old films; he also wants to get a moral across, so he needs to be sentimental. Yet it’s only for brief moments, so he really has to pack it into those scenes. Again, the result is sloppy and gawky.

Unfortunately, that’s what the entire film feels a bit like. There are some good moments, but for the most part it’s what we’ve all come to expect from Adam Sandler lately. It just depends on whether or not that’s become your cup of juice.