"They Could Have Made It Really Funny, But Went With The Message At The End"

Rating: 6/10 (20 December 2006)

Michael is an architect who works way too hard and can't seem to find time for his family. With too many remotes around the house he decides to pick up a universal remote to try and make his life a little easier. This is where he meets Morty, who works in the way beyond department. He gives Michael a remote that is "beyond" it's time from a technical stand-point. Michael soon finds out that not only can it control the television, but the universe around him.
Frank Coraci and Adam Sandler have worked together before; the results being The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer. Both films were quite funny and let Sandler do his usual yelling at everyone routine. Now they have hooked up for a third time and the result is "Click", a not so overly funny film that tried to jump emotional gears left, right, and centre.
While watching "Click" all I could recall was how everyone cried in the final moments. I'm sitting here asking myself, why? Sure the scenes do tug at your tear ducts, but in this type of film you know exactly what the ending is going to be and guess what, that ending happens. If you know in the end everything is going to be okay, where is the emotional value in that? Sure I felt sad that he couldn't say good-bye to his father and sure I felt sad when he was lying there on the ground dying, but I didn't cry. I don't see where all these tears are coming from. Either I'm missing something, or the audience is just more emotional these days.
In a film that has dogs humping ducks, an obese sandler groping his "tits", and flatulence jokes you can't really have the sappy ending this film does. I don't buy it. "Click" needed to stay in one frame of mind and not waver back and forth and teach us a lesson at the end of it. Numerous times I was reminded of Bruce Almighty here, it's basically the same film but one features a remote control. Both films showcase a dog with problems, a hot wife and a comedic actor being able to control everything around him. The difference is Bruce Almighty had so much more fun with what it had. Ask yourself what is funnier, Jim Carrey making Steve Carell look like an idiot on television, or Adam Sandler farting in David Hasselhoff's face? For the record, a dog humping a duck is only funny once, not a dozen times.
It takes a special guy to save a film like this, and luckily for the filmmakers Walken is that man. Christopher Walken steals the show as Morty, the guy who gives Sandler the remote. In every scene that he's in, he has this comedic tone to him that just gets to you, and you can't explain it. As for Kate Beckinsale, sure she is hot and sure she can play the wife role, but did she really do that much? Nope, instead she decides to run off with Sean Astin...speaking of which, is he going to be the next Adam Sandler Cameo Buddy?
I can only recommend this as a rainy day viewing. It's not the best, or the worst Sandler film. It does have some funny moments, Henry Winkler is perfect in the dad role and of course my main man Walken steals every scene he is in. You may even cry at the end, apparently, that's what I've been hearing. In the end, you most likely will end up disappointed with the fact that they didn't really do much with what they had. So much potential in the concept of a universal remote and it's wasted on Sandler's selfish doings. Instead of going outside the box and making a crazy flick, it plays it safe and does exactly what was shown in the trailers. On a side note, if you've seen the trailers, you've seen most of, if not all, of the comedic parts. So enjoy the film as much as you can. My final grade is a 6...and that's being generous.