Adam Sandler Had a Magical Remote in Click

Adam Sandler became famous mainly for his very silly movies. I have enjoyed some of those movies, though I have to be in the right mood to really enjoy them. In the last few years he has branched out to take some more serious roles. The trailers made it seem like Click would be more like his earlier silly movies. Instead, the movie turned out to be much more serious than I expected.

Michael Newman was working a lot of long hours as an architect to try to get a promotion so he could give his family a better life. His wife Donna was supportive, though she did feel like he was putting work ahead of her and their kids, Ben and Samantha. Michael cancelled plans with the kids because his boss, Mr. Ammer, gave him a project at the last minute that had to be finished in just a few days. Michael was frustrated with everything going on in his life and the final straw was when he couldn’t figure out which remote to use for the television. He headed off to buy a universal remote, ending up at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Michael wondered through a door marked Beyond and met Morty, a strange man that gave him a very advanced universal remote. Michael was shocked when he discovered that the remote would actually control things in the real world, allowing him to turn the volume down on the barking dog or fast forward through an argument with Donna. Michael was thrilled with the remote, using it to fast forward through things like family dinners and disagreements with Donna. Mr. Ammer piled on even more work and Michael turned to the remote to get through it, which caused him to fast forward through a large chunk of time. After that, the remote started automatically fast forwarding, making Michael miss out on more and more of his life.

Click seemed like it would be strictly a comedy when it started. There were several laughs related to Michael’s work and family life. Mr. Ammer was a jerk of a boss and did act a bit like an idiot at times, which did make me laugh. Some things that were done to add humor were really silly, something that has happened in many Adam Sandler movies before. I did think a few of those things were just too silly and even crossed over into being stupid instead of funny. Michael did get a bit overboard in a few scenes, though it wasn’t as bad as has happened in some other movies. Some gross humor was used at times as well as some more adult type humor that parents may not want their children to see. The movie was rated PG-13, so it really isn’t a movie for younger children. There was swearing in the movie by several characters, including some of the child characters.

Click turned out to be a different type of movie than I had expected before watching it. The trailers and previews I had seen before did make it seem like it would be a typical Sandler type of comedy. It did start off that way with some jokes that worked and some silly attempts at humor that I didn’t feel worked that well. There were also a few more serious moments related to Michael’s family life. As the movie progressed, it pulled away from comedy and turned to drama. The movie was much more serious than I expected it to be. I wasn’t bothered that it did have a more serious tone and message. However, I do think the funny and serious moments could have been balanced out a little better. As it was, the beginning of the movie was really funny while the second half was very serious and even sad at times. That did make it almost seem like two different movies. The movie did have a message about the importance of family that has been done in other movies. That was slightly predictable and could bother some people since it wasn’t the most original idea even though it was presented in a different way.

Michael and everything he went through was the focus of Click. His family was also important, but they weren’t as developed as much as he was. Michael was working so hard and neglecting his family because he was trying to actually give them a better life. He believed that if he worked hard and got a promotion that would magically make everything wonderful in his family life. He truly did love his family. He just didn’t appreciate what he had. I did think that Adam Sandler handled the part of Michael well. He did get a little annoying in one or two scenes, but it wasn’t bad enough to make me dislike the movie. I have enjoyed many of his other movies, including The Longest Yard and Spanglish.

Donna was very supportive of Michael, but she did feel like he was putting his job ahead of everything. She did love her husband. She just got frustrated with him at times. Since the movie was more focused on Michael, Donna was pushed a bit into the background. That meant that Kate Beckinsale didn’t have that much to do. I do think she was believable in the part. Donna was a very different character from the ones she played in Van Helsing or the Underworld movies. Ben and Samantha also weren’t developed too much but they were important since Michael was working so hard to make a better life for them.

Michael’s parents Ted and Trudy turned up in several scenes. They were still happy in their marriage and loved their son. They didn’t always agree with the decisions that Michael made. Henry Winkler and Julie Kavner were good in the parts and believable as a couple that had been married for years. Kavner is probably best known as the voice of Marge on The Simpsons. Mr. Ammer wanted his business to be successful and he seemed to like pushing off the work on others. He could be very demanding and did act like an idiot at times. I did think that David Hasselhoff was good in the part. Jennifer Coolidge turned up briefly as Donna’s friend Janine.

Morty was the mysterious man in Bed, Bath & Beyond that gave Michael the remote. He knew a lot of things and would turn up in unexpected places. The character did act a bit wacky and Christopher Walken fit the part very well. He did look a bit like a mad scientist. Walken didn’t freak me out in this part like he has in some of his other parts.

Main Cast

Kate Beckinsale - Donna Newman
Joseph Castanon - Ben Newman
Jennifer Coolidge - Janine
David Hasselhoff - Mr. Ammer
Julie Kavner - Trudy Newman
Tatum McCann - Samantha Newman
Adam Sandler - Michael Newman
Christopher Walken - Morty
Henry Winkler - Ted

Frank Coraci - Director

DVD Information

Click was released on DVD in October of 2006. I missed seeing the movie in the theater and recently rented it. The DVD had several featurettes that explored how different things were created for the movie. It included a commentary with Sandler, the director, a producer, and the writer of the movie. There were also some deleted scenes on the DVD. I didn’t have a chance to check out any of the extras before I had to take the movie back so I don’t know how interesting or entertaining they were.

Click was entertaining and I enjoyed it a lot even though it was different from what I expected. People that like Adam Sandler could like the movie too, though they might be disappointed by the fact that the movie became more serious. People in the mood for strictly a funny movie may want to pick a different movie.

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