Considering the outrageous price of gasoline, save yourself a trip to the theater. Instead of attending a screening of the new Adam Sandler movie, “Click,” I recommend watching the 1946 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” on mute, while playing Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle” on repeat.
That’s because “Click” is an amalgamation of two classic narratives: The absent father, more devoted to his work than his family (“When you coming home dad, I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then, son”); and, the man granted an opportunity to watch various parts of his past and future unfold (“You see George, you’ve really had a wonderful life”).
Adam Sandler stars as Michael Newman; hardworking architect, father to two adorable and never misbehaved children, husband to a gorgeous woman whose character initially has no purpose but to stroke Michael’s ego (as well as other parts) or to complain when he neglects his familial duties in favor of his job.
Michael Newman also happens to be legally retarded (just kidding; that’s a subplot I made up to keep myself entertained during this film), and therefore unable to operate the various remotes sprinkled around his living room. One night after turning on his son’s mechanical helicopter rather than the television, Michael purchases a universal remote from a wide-eyed scientist (played by Christopher Walken) working in the back of Bed Bath & Beyond.
The remote controls not only Michael’s appliances, but his universe as well. Michael can fast-forward the dog, mute his wife’s friend, change language settings and volume to hear the private conversation of Japanese businessmen.
The nifty trickery of the remote starts to get ugly, however, when it learns Michael’s preferences for fast forwarding through periods of work, and automatically takes him through an entire year of his life. Then another ten years, and six years, and so on. The audience pals along with Michael as he travels through an entire lifespan; getting a promotion, losing his wife, attending his son’s wedding. In the style of Chapin’s classic song, this montage of life events teaches Michael the tragic consequences of his power-hungry corporate aspirations.
This film suffers from a lack of focus, a lack of cinematic style, and a lack of competent dialogue. The first half of the film, before Michael begins traveling into his long term future, plays like a typically bad PG-13 comedy. Women are not characters, they are props, and the narrative action is so predictable, it would have been possible to watch the previews for this film and simply imagine the rest of the movie. The characters’ dialogue is likewise predictable, making it difficult for any member of the cast to escape his or her shallow, stereotypical role: The beautiful wife married to a slob, the unfeeling chauvinist boss, the abandoned yet loving children. Camera angles are static, and the visuals are so bland that one wonders if a cinematographer was even present. The only people in the theater who consistently laughed at this comedy were under ten.
Apart from the hokey sci-fi aspect of it, Michael’s travels into his future made for a fairly entertaining film experience. Michael’s grown son, played by Jake Hoffman, was charming and genuine in attempting to be different from his workaholic father while balancing his own family/job situation. Michael’s wife, played by Kate Beckinsale, finally developed a character as an older woman.
These instances of enjoyable characters and narrative, however, are too little and too late to make up for the majority of this bland film. Modern comedies such as “Anchorman” and “Wedding Crashers” are offensive yet charming, stupid yet hilarious; low art that appeals to the masses because they provoke genuine laughter. “Click” does not.
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