CLICK

Can’t get a title more simple than that – “Click”. So, maybe this will be a simple way to sum things up – this movie is “Back To The Future” meets “It’s A Wonderful Life” meets “A Christmas Carol”. Got it? Okay, then “click”, I’m done.

Well, there’s a little more. Things got off to a slow start – Adam Sandler, in desperate need of a hit, plays Michael Newman, an overworked Dad with no time for family. He’s got two cute kids and, to put it mildly, one hot wife played by Kate Beckinsale. Wow, this lady can bring it. Every outfit looks like it’s “workout time”, and this woman has given birth to two kids! Now, why would a Dad like Mr. Newman ever need to spend every working hour at his architect job when he has Kate Beckinsale and two charming kids at home? At the risk of going overboard, she’s not only incredible looking, she’s sweet and understanding and, apparently, ready to hop in bed at a moment’s notice. As for the kids, they’re attentive and ready for Dad’s help and guidance.

So much for it doesn’t make sense – the opening of this movie looked like a time warp. I was sure this was a script left over from the late ‘80’s because Mike Newman is perplexed by all the remotes in the house. Yes, he’s overwhelmed by remote controls –ah, hello, have you seen i-pods and MP-3 players, not to mention the internet? Why all we needed is another 80’s feel like David Hasselhoff from “Baywatch” and we’re really stuck in the decade. Hey, what do you know? Hasselhoff plays Newman’s boss. But, I’ll let all that pass, because the remote frustrations lead Newman to a “Bed, Bath and Beyond” store, which is where we need to go to fetch the magic remote that will change his life.

I like the “beyond” joke – what is the “beyond” in the “Bed, Bath and Beyond” name anyway? Well, in this movie, that’s Christopher Walken, and he offers Michael the chance to just “click” and change his life instantly. More on that in a moment, but the slow start I referred to involves the so “1980’s” fascination with the remotes, and the constant “product placement” I felt subjected to – because beyond “Bed, Bath and Beyond”, there is constant snacking on Hostess “Yodels”, “Yankee Doodles” and “Twinkies”, which seem to be everywhere. I notice these things when I’m bored by a movie and clearly, at this point, I was. “Click” wasn’t funny, and it seemed I was in a time warp – Walken even resembled the mad scientist played by Christopher Lloyd in “Back to the Future”.

The message is clear – don’t let work take priority over your family, but, thankfully, things pick up. Newman begins using the device to get out of annoying and uncomfortable situations and complications ensue. And I have to say – it’s all explained very nicely, and the special effects and make-up complement the action. Wouldn’t you like to go back words and forwards through your life to relive some memories, or to get a look at things to come? Yeah, I know there’s a limit to that, but when Newman’s use of the remote get out of control, they even took the time to explain that when he fast forwards and “puts himself in the future”, he won’t really know what’s going on. Just after I wondered about that, it was explained. I like it when that happens.

If you can hang in, and that’s a big “if”, it’s hard not to get a little sentimental near the end, when Newman finally learns his lesson. Well, maybe you won’t, but I was a bit touched. Hey, maybe it was just that kind of day for me.

“Click” gets about half the job done. Adam Sandler can’t quite pull off the part, but his kids and wife do. I give it a “5.0” on the scale, which isn’t bad, it was headed much lower earlier on.