Derivative and repetitive

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2006)

In CLICK, The Newman family dog likes to hump the children's stuffed animal.
Knowing this one comic device, you are now aware of at least 10 percent of the gags in Adam Sandler's latest vehicle - I can recall from memory at least five times in which this dog-on-stuffed-duck intimacy is played for laughs.
Sadly, this is all too typical of Sandler's repertoire: He finds one thing that's funny, and then utterly runs it into the ground until it's lost all comic value. You'd think a film comic with a $20 million asking price would understand that jokes aren't funny once you've seen them a dozen times.
The plot of CLICK, in a nutshell: Sandler plays Michael Newman, an overworked architect with conflicted loyalties between work and family. After a late-night trip to Bed Bath & Beyond (which enjoys repeated brand placement throughout the movie), Michael is given a "universal" remote that allows him to pause, stop, mute, rewind and fast-forward through events. Meaningful life lessons ensue.
CLICK is not a bad movie, but neither is it a good one. It's an Adam Sandler movie. If you've seen any other of his films, you've essentially seen this one: Sandler plays a good guy who is nice to women, children and the elderly. As always, his love interest is unspeakably gorgeous (British beauty Kate Beckinsale, who lets her American accent slip noticeably in a couple of scenes).
Regarding the ending: We won't give it away because we don't HAVE to. If you don't see the conclusion coming a good half hour away, then you're probably the type of viewer who will find the dog's love life funny (along with the movie's endless jokes about flatulence, 8-year-olds swearing, and other Sandler boilerplate).
So, if you like Sandler, you'll like this movie. If you haven't seen an Adam Sandler movie, rent THE WEDDING SINGER or HAPPY GILMORE.
5/10 stars.