It shocked me!

Rating: 8/10 (31 January 2007)

I must say, this movie shocked me! I went into the theater expecting a typical Adam Sandler comedy flick: Brainless, kinda dumb, but also very funny. Basically a good mindless laugher, something light-hearted that makes me giggle. I would have been happy with that.
However, what I got was so much better! The movie started off exactly as expected: Comedy, some vulgar, and light-hearted remarks by Mr. Sandler. But there was something... different... about the start of this film in hindsight. At the time, I didn't notice, but it was clear that the plot was building toward something. From there, the plot grew with each moment to a budding gem! At first, the remote was a God-send for Sandler, allowing him to "fix" the problems in his life, which primarily consisted of getting himself more time to accomplish more at work. Things start to spiral out of control, however, as the remote remembers his "preferences", and begins fast-forwarding through most of his life. From here, the plot changed from a light-hearted comedy with a subtle backbone to a heart-rending drama that tore tears from me...
I was shocked when he had to discover his dog had died... I tried, and failed, to choke back tears when he was saying goodbye to his dad, whom he had been exceptionally rude to while in "autopilot" while fast forwarding right past his death... And the hairs on my arm raised and I got chills as he sacrificed his life and used his dying breaths to beg his son not to follow in his footsteps and to apologize to his wife...
Of course, the ending is happy, or else this could not have been sold as a comedy at all, but the messages were clear.
This is a surprise gem that you will truly enjoy!