Happy Gilmore... with his universal remote.

Rating: 7/10 (15 April 2008)

My Take: Derivative yet funny.
Almost all of Adam Sandler comedies sum up similarly. HAPPY GILMORE, THE WATERBOY, THE LONGEST YARD, and now, CLICK. CLICK isn't any different from other of Sandler's movies, but it's perhaps the most relevant and, perhaps, the smartest, even if it isn't the least brilliant. It's pure Sandler formula, but it works well with a better script, derived from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and BRUCE ALMIGHTY, and its mildly amusing with a touch.
I hardly bought Sandler as a father in his movies (BIG DADDY mainly), but he did better this time around. He plays Michael Newman, a workaholic who chooses work, aiming to be his boss's new partner, over spending time with his family, much to the disappointment of his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and kids. When life gets too tough for him, or basically getting a difficult time to turn on the television, he decides to buy a universal remote to "make his life less complicated". Christopher Walken plays the eccentric "store clerk" named Morty who gives him a Universal Remote Control ("the remote that controls your universe."), who also pops up unexpectedly to give him advices on how to use it. This gives Michael, of course, the opportunity to do things he'd been dying to do. This includes messing with his boss (David Hasselhoff) who refuses to promote him, shutting up his wife's nagging best friend , and mess with the little annoying kid next door. All this is quite funny and they deliver, even if some jokes are mean-spirited and some, fall short off the mark.
Although it doesn't always work, CLICK delivers the promise. It's quite funny enough, especially during the scenes with Sandler and Walken. When both of these guys are on the screen, the comedy sparks fly. Sandler's acting hasn't yet improved over the years and the morality is simply spoiled by the fact that Michael has been to mean all his life, but I didn't mind, it delivers exactly what I wanted.
CLICK is far from its inspirations (said above), but all in all, its worth the effort. I had fun enough to give it a ***1/2.
Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.