A very surprising and thoughtful comedy

Rating: 9/10 (1 August 2006)

When I first saw the trailer for "Click" I thought something along the lines of 'oh, just another dumb Adam Sandler flick' but after begrudgingly going to see it with a friend, I was quickly proved wrong. "Click" tells the tale of busy architect Michael Newman (Adam Sandler), and how his life dramatically changes when he is given a remote that lets him control time, so he can skip the arguments with his wife, get work projects finished quickly and basically spend time doing what he wants. But things take a turn for the worse when the remote, after becoming accustomed to what he likes to skip through, ends up skipping through whole periods of his life....
Adam Sandler was terrific as Newman, and although he has long ago proved he is a terrific comic actor, he really shines in the dramatic moments here. The rest of the main cast are just as good, and everyone has an important role to play, and nearly everyone gets to appear in the various time periods, it is interesting seeing them all age. Kate Beckinsale is excellent as Newman's long-suffering wife, Christopher Walken plays the enigmatic Marty (whom Neman got the remote from), and I think this is the first film I have seen him in where he doesn't annoy me! David Hasselhoff also proves that he is indeed a good actor with his performance as Ammer, Newman's demanding boss.
The terrific cast continues with Henry Winkler and the lovely Julie Kavner playing Ted and Trude respectively, the parents of Sandler's Michael Newman. Both are outrageously funny, and both will make you produce a tear or two - happy and sad. It's also very interesting to see Kavner on screen as opposed to simply hearing her unique voice on "The Simpsons". Sean Astin as Bill doesn't get much screen time at the beginning of the film, but he plays an important role later on, and is very good. Jennifer Coolidge is outrageous as ever playing Donna's friend Janine, she is a very, very funny woman - watch out for her in one of the flashback scenes as well, she's a scream! Australian pop-star Sophie Monk has a small role as Ammer's assistant, though she doesn't get to show off as much as she did in "Date Movie".
The children of Michael and Donna Newman also have important roles in the life of their father, both in the present and future. Joseph Castanon plays Ben at age 7 and Tatum McCann plays Samantha at age 5, and both are on their way to being fine actors if they so desire. Playing the 22-30 year old Ben is Jack Hoffman, and the 22-30 year old Samantha is the elegant Katie Cassidy, both fantastic.
What surprised me the most is obviously that "Click" is unlike other Sandler films, in that it is very "grown-up", and has deep meanings to it. Of course there is also plenty of humor thrown in, some of it rather crude (most scenes involving the Newman's pet dog), but nevertheless amusing, and no doubt appealing to any children that watch the film. Hopefully, the moral of the story is not lost on children either, the moral being something along the lines of life being precious and one should never wish that they could simply skip a part of their life, and also that we need to value our parents, family and loved ones - after all, death could only be a "Click" away. Highly recommended.