CLICK

In Click, Adam Sandler plays Michael Newman, a husband and father of two who is trying to provide the best for his family. Stuck in a dead-end job at an architectural firm, Michael dreams of finally making partner. With a promotion he would be able to give his household everything they ever wanted.

Unfortunately, the process of getting promoted isn’t as easy as he would like it to be. Working for an unforgiving and unrelenting boss (David Hasselhoff) places immense pressure on him not only at work but also at home where his relationship with his wife and kids begins to take strain.

Unable to find the correct remote for the VCR one evening Michael takes a stand and decides to purchase a universal remote, to make his life easier. The remote that he gets given, however, does more than just control appliances; it is able to control his life and the world around him. Soon Michael is fast-forwarding his way to success but like most things in life the quick and easy route has dire and, often, unforeseen consequences.

Like the recent My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Click is driven by a great concept but is unfortunately clumsy and badly executed.

Having a universal remote that could control the various elements in and around your life sounds like it could be a lot of fun. You could relive moments of your past – first kisses, fast forward through boring conversations with people you didn’t like, watch entire seasons of a particular television show in one sitting and have Christmas or any holiday whenever you felt like it. Of course, you’d be missing a lot of other things and this is Click’s message. It’s a pity though that the film isn’t more balanced.

In true Sandler style the film starts out utilising all of Sandler’s talents (toilet humour, loud ranting and screaming etc.) which is what I expected; that’s why I like and watch Adam Sandler movies. Click, however, simply isn’t very funny. It’s weak and stilted in its comedic approach and there are very few burst-out-laughing moments. The remote control sequences – in which Sandler’s character rewinds and fast-forwards through his life – are well developed and entertaining but these are just not enough.

The comedic nature of Click’s first half shifts somewhat abruptly as it enters into the second, becoming a comedy drama. It is here that the film takes a sudden, and I must admit unexpected, turn to the serious side of Michael’s actions. It becomes a modern rendition of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, except the ghost of Christmas Past and Present are nowhere to be seen and the Ghost of Christmas (Yet to Come) Future rules the roost. Click’s transition into a serious film is unexpected because there is no indication within its first half that Michael’s actions will result in anything other than more scenes of aspired-to-hilarity.

The distinct split in the film makes Click feel as if it should – and could – have been two films; the comedy and drama elements needed to be more cleverly intertwined.

I admire Christopher Walken (who plays the eccentric inventor Morty) because he has no hang-ups concerning who he is as an actor. One minute he can be performing in a role worthy of an Oscar and the next he’s starring in a film like Click, something that really – if he wanted it to be – is beneath him. It, however, clearly isn’t and what you get is a throw-away performance that doesn’t do much for his career and that shows off his kooky side once again.

Performances from “Michael’s kids” are forced and they are clearly acting instead of being their characters. These performances feel choreographed and are rather painful to watch. Natural is not a word I would use to describe them.

Click is an interesting “what if?” film that fails because it isn’t very funny and suffers from an unbalanced and badly executed screenplay. I still like Adam Sandler but I am getting tired of wanting to laugh and rarely being rewarded for my patience.