Review of Click (2006) by Caleb C — 23 Aug 2014

Click is probably Adam Sandler's best movie in recent years, though that's not saying much. It's, by no means, his best work but it's also far from his worst. In the 80s and 90s Adam Sandler was pretty big making movies such as Happy Gilmore. However, come the 2000s he began losing his thunder and nowadays he is pretty much a joke with movies like Jack and Jill and That's My Boy. Compared to films like those this film is high art.

The story is quite simple. You have Michael Newman (Adam Sandler), a workaholic architect, who finds it hard to balance his work life with spending time with his family. One night he goes to a story trying to find the ultimate remote control. A shady salesman played by Christopher Walken sells him one. It turns out to be a universal remote that literally controls the universe and hijinks ensue.

First of all I found the concept of the universal remote a cool idea and it opened many doors for some good jokes which I think this film takes advantage of, at least in the first half. The first half of the film I found fun and it had several laugh out loud moments. Adam Sandler I think does a good job here. I think this is his best performance in a long time.

However, there is some gross-out humor in there which I don't care for. Also just after the we reach the middle the film suddenly shifts from a light comedy to almost a dark melodrama with the remote getting broken, fast forwarding through time by itself, and Adam Sandler's character dying. When I first saw this film I remember being a bit jarred at the abrupt tone shift. It still ultimately ends happily but the sudden shift in tone is still quite weird. Every comedy has some dramatic moments especially at the climax but this seemed a bit too dramatic for a movie like this. It didn't bother me so much where it ruined the movie because there are still some funny jokes in there, but it might turn many people off. You can't really have your cake and eat it too on this. If you want to make a fun comedy then do it, or if you want to make a series and dark movie then do it, but don't do both at once.

I guess what the film is going for with this is that there's no easy way out for anything. Sandler's character, Newman, tried to take the easy way out with his family with the universal remote, but that backfired because there is no easy way out. Even on the off chance that was the message the movie was going for it still could have been handled in a way that suits the film more.

Overall, Click is an enjoyable comedy for me. I can't speak for others since comedy is subjective, but I can say I like the film okay. It definitely not a good film and barely a decent one, but as a comedy I had some laughs even with the tone shift in the second half. That second half might jar people and turn them off. Adam Sandler has better films but it's definitely an improvement over the crap he's putting out these days.