
(M) Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken
It's hard to imagine an Adam Sandler film that has an emotionally
resonant message.
Michael Newman (Sandler) is a stressed out father of two, married
to Donna (Kate Beckinsale) his beautiful, longsuffering wife. The
stresses of juggling work pressure and home life is causing him
grief. One night, when he can't even find the remote for the TV,
he bemoans a better, more controllable life.
A visit to the "Beyond" of Bed, Bath and Beyond sees him
obtaining a "universal" remote from strange salesman Morty
(Christopher Walken) and suddenly his life changes.
He hits his "life menu" and goes forward and backward
in his life, listening to commentaries, chaptering through boring
meals with his parents and fast forwarding through uncomfortable
arguments with Donna.
But the remote is dangerous. He starts using it as a substitute
for living through bad times - essentially fast forwarding through
the boring bits. Worse still, the remote is intuitive and starts
anticipating what he will want to do, fast forwarding through large
chunks of his life with disastrous, bewildering and sobering results.
By the end, Michael has learned his lesson, but at a terrible price.
Click accomplishes what it sets out to do: tell an amusing,
affecting story about how we lose sight of what matters, that we
should live each day as a gift and that being satisfied and engaged
with what you have in life stops you living on "autopilot".
Adrian Drayton