Potentially interesting plot ruined by Sandler

Rating: 4/10 (18 October 2006)

Before renting this movie I had heard from friends, as well as from reading reviews, that feelings about this film were mixed. So, I figured, what the heck, check it out for yourself. Well, I did. My wife and I were hesitant to rent it because we are older than the typical audience that enjoys Sandler's movies. But, since we found "Punch Drunk Love" somewhat entertaining, we took a chance on "Click".
We were turned off by the typical crude humor Sandler is known for delivering. However, we felt that the other main actors (Beckinsale and Walken) did a nice job. Walken, in particular, reminded us of the eccentric, wacky scientist played by Christopher Lloyd in "Back to the Future", which we really loved. Winkler and Kavner were just so-so - a bit over the top, especially for "old folks" scenes.
If the plot had been focused more on the serious rather than the comedic elements, the film would have come across as being less scattered. From our perspective, the serious messages were worth the time and cost of renting this movie. But Sandler is just not a good actor. It was hard to feel real empathy for him - not because the situations he was in weren't tragic, but because he uses very little facial or voice modulation to convince us he is in pain or rueful about mistaken actions he has made in his life. Now, if Robin Williams had taken this role when he was younger (e.g., when he did "Bicentennial Man"), the film would have been both funnier and sadder.
It was interesting to note that Sandler was one of the producers of this film. Too bad he couldn't rein in his ego and look for another lead actor instead of taking the role himself. The film would have been better had he done so.