Likely this summer's best comedy

Rating: 9/10 (22 June 2006)

Adam Sandler's movies are usually predictable and quite funny. You pretty much know you'll laugh a fair bit and be taught a lesson on life, kind of like the average sitcom, except his jokes tend to be funnier and the humour a tad more crude.
I was expecting to see the best comedy of the summer going into this, and I wasn't disappointed. The first two thirds of the movie are very funny and the pace is excellent. Beckinsale is great as his wife, as is Morty, the Bed, Bath and Beyond employee who gives him the universal remote control. Plenty of people are already talking about Hasselhoff's role as Sandler's boss, but the supporting role I found even better was played by Sean Astin, as the swim coach of Michael's son. There are plenty of great one-liners at his expense and he provides some good comic relief later on in the film. Another great supporting part is Monaghan as the snotty, spoiled kid next door. He torments Sandler constantly and Sandler fires right back, providing for some very funny scenes.
I was wondering how they planned on keeping it funny for two hours, and this was the only thing that didn't happen. The first half of the movie is very funny, but then it gets into the life lesson part of the movie as the remote control starts fast forwarding on its own, and Sandler is left with gaps in his life. Each time it fast forwards, another part of his life is gone, and he is sadder for it.
All in all, the film is essentially a modern retelling of either Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" or Dicken's "Scrooge", as the main character learns a lesson on his priorities and how they affect his life. The only real question is will he learn it in time to make things right.