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The Movie: "Click" is by no means a film without some considerable issues. However, it's just about one of the strangest pictures Adam Sandler has ever done, and despite its flaws, remains oddly watchable. The picture stars Sandler as Michael Newman, an architect who rarely ever makes time for his family, choosing to concentrate on work and his goal of becoming a partner at his firm. One night, when Michael has trouble finding which remote turns on the fan and which turns on the TV, he steps into the "Beyond" section of his local Bed Bath & Beyond (a joke "Family Guy" did first) and meets an inventor named Morty (Christopher Walken), who offers him a special remote that he cannot return. As Michael soon finds out, the remote can control his life: he turns on commentary for past events (provided courtesy of none other than James Earl Jones), silences people whenever he wants, launches a picture-in-picture window to watch the game, zips through getting ready in the morning and bizarrely, fast-forwards past sex with his attractive, frustrated wife (Kate Beckinsale). However, Michael soon finds out that fast-forwarding through life's moments that he finds less desirable isn't as great as it could be: the remote has begun to learn Michael's "preferences" and starts fast-forwarding on its own. Soon, Michael's kids are all grown up and, since he was essentially "out to lunch" mentally as he was fast-forwarding past years, his wife has divorced him and married another guy (Sean Astin). An issue with the second half is Rick Baker's make-up, which is unconvincing (very rare for Baker.) Monty also keeps popping in, eventually revealing that he's not exactly who he made himself out to be. "Click" often feels like watching Adam Sandler's two sides (the Sandler that wants to be the serious actor, and Happy Gilmore) battle it out on-screen. The result is a picture that uses the gag of dogs humping several times and has a scene towards the end that is probably one of the most sappy, sentimental and overscored I've seen in quite some time. The picture jumps back-and-forth between attempts at Big Emotional Moments and crude humor so often that the filmmakers clearly don't know which side of Sandler's audience they wanted to appeal to. As with Sandler's other movies directed by pal Frank Coraci or Dennis Dugan, the emotional moments are manipulative and underlined. It's too bad, because Sandler has demonstrated in other films ("Spanglish" and "Punch-Drunk Love") that he's actually capable of being a respectable dramatic actor. As for the performances, "Click" is Sandler's show. Beckinsale, a talented actress not given much to do in a thin role as frustrated wife. Sandler's films have never exactly given women strong roles, but Beckinsale's character is barely one-dimensional. Christopher Walken effortlessly plays another oddball character, but he's not given enough to do and an interesting twist for the character towards the end really doesn't go anywhere. It's an interesting concept (and seems - especially at moments in the second half - like it's going to come together like it has the potential to, which is a prime reason why it remains as watchable as it does), but the mixture of fart jokes (including Sandler and melodrama just doesn't click as well as it could have. The DVD VIDEO: "Click" looks slick in this 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Shot on hi-def video, the picture looks crisp and clear throughout. Some minor edge enhancement and artifacting is spotted on a couple of occasions, but it doesn't cause much in the way of distraction. Colors remained bright and nicely saturated, with no smearing or other concerns. Black level also looked solid, as well. SOUND: The film's Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation is probably the most lively sound mix to ever accompany a Sandler film, as the fast-forwards and other effects are accompanied by some nice use of the surrounds. Audio quality is perfectly pleasant, with crisp effects, music and dialogue. EXTRAS: Sandler, director Frank Coraci, producer Tim Herlihy (also the writer of most of Sandler's films) and writer Steve Korn sit down to provide a commentary for the picture. The commentary is a relaxed affair with the group eagerly chatting about the stories behind-the-scenes and goofing on each other. The group offer up a pretty funny track and fans will likely find this worthwhile. Aside from 4 deleted scenes, the disc also offers up a handful of short featurettes that explore different aspects of the picture: "Make Me Old and Fat","FX of Click", "Fine Cookin'", "Design My Universe" (production design), "Cars of the Future", "Director's Take" and "Humping Dogs". Finally, there's a set of previews for other titles from the studio, including "Stranger Than Fiction", "Spider-Man 3" and others. Final Thoughts: "Click"'s plot have potential to be an interesting sci-fi/drama with touches of comedy, but the film doesn't develop characters much and bounces too often between crude comedy and soapy drama. The DVD offers solid audio/video quality and a lot of nice extras. Rent it. 
Film Grade The Film C DVD Grades Video 91/A Audio: 88/B Extras: 81/B |