PUSH THE BUTTON

Click (12)
reviewed by David Mahmoudieh at the
UK premier, Leicester Sq, London

Ever felt a sudden, sharp pain passing through some part of your anatomy? Don’t worry, it’s probably just Adam Sandler playing tricks with his newest toy – a supernatural remote control that can, among other things, ‘pause’ time and the universe whilst he performs various offences to the unwary frozen.

Love him or loathe him, Sandler certainly never fails to push the right or wrong buttons, respectively -- and none more so than this latest offering from the jestful junkie and his usual ensemble of wacky friends (Rob Schneider, as always, included).



Sandler plays Michael Newman, a workaholic architect so desperately seeking a promotion from his boss (David Hasselhoff) that he puts his family on the backburner, much to the disdain of his wife (Kate Beckinsale).

One night, in protest at the plethora of remote controls clogging up his house, Michael takes a drive to his local one-stop where he stumbles upon Morty (the truly majestic Christopher Walken in customary matchless manner), a zany inventor who tenders him a – quite literally – ‘universal remote’, an all-application device which Michael soon learns controls just a little more than the TV.

But the ability to slow down, speed up and even pause the universe isn’t quite as much fun as it first seems; the remote begins interpreting his wishes, even learning to anticipate them. It isn’t long before the remote control is controlling Michael.

Like every Sandler film, Click preaches those little anecdotes of life’s simple lessons and is as much a metaphorical pageant of the unsociable male yearning for - not just the remote control, but control in general.



I must admit, my expectations of Click were about as high as a broken kite, but I was initially absorbed once things got going.

One small criticism I do feel obliged to expel is its absence of requisite attachment to characters we’re later meant – but never know enough about – to care for. The usual smear of immature impulses and vulgarities (such as suspending time so he can fart in his boss’s face), although amusing, are structurally misplaced and somewhat reduce the emotional momentum of the film, and this is where the last half-hour fails.

A lack of build-up between the transition from comedy to a very suddenly sentimental piece leaves you not knowing whether you’re supposed to laugh or cry, so you end up doing neither.

A few early paralles have been drawn between Click and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, with Michael strolling through past, present and future with celestial ease. Bruce Almighty, Groundhog Day, and perhaps most notably It’s A Wonderful Life are others which fall victim to the grateful nod of a clearly over-referenced genre.

Nevertheless, this is a field of comedy Sandler has been fine-tuning for over a decade and the former stand-up deserves huge credit for the consistency which has amassed him a dedicated fan-base. And those loyal to him will undoubtedly take exclusive pleasure in the subtle citations to previous works.

In a nustshell: if you love Sandler, you’ll love this.

© David Mahmoudieh 2006


SEE MY INTERVIEW WITH ADAM SANDLER BELOW

DM MEETS ADAM SANDLER



CLICK: THE INTERVIEW

Getting a rare interview with Sandler in London, he didn't disappoint in my expecations. Every question he answered was coated in self-ridicule and oozed a natural sarcasm that made Adam Sandler the man every bit as equivalent as Adam Sandler the actor.

DM: "You obviously like having an influential involvement with more than just the acting duties in your films, perhaps why many carry that distinctive Adam Sandler hallmark about them. But surprisingly, this is only the second time you’ve co-written one of your own films."

AS: "That statement isn’t entirely true. It was Steve Koren and Mark O’Keefe who wrote the thing, I just added a few commas, an extra full stop here and there, then decided to put my name on the front of it. Usually I’m not a fan of writing stuff I’m intimately involved with, I like to be able to maintain that distance and just blame everyone else, like the writers - especially the writers - when it all goes wrong or the film does badly. But as I was co-producing they (Steve and Mark) asked whether I wanted to add anything to it or whatever, so I did a brief re-write. I just added some of my usual... you know, the Sandler stain."

DM: "More lately your career has mixed in what seems to be a recurring element of playing more profound characters – i.e. Punch Drunk Love, Spanglish, Anger Management. Do you find those parts more challenging and therefore any more rewarding as an actor?"

AS: "I must admit, they’re a lot less fun – I don’t mean that in a bad way. I mean, there’s a scene in this thing [Click] where I lose my father, and that was like the most difficult thing to have to come into work sad and to keep my eyes permanently welled-up, ready to start crying at any moment. But of course as an actor I want to do the best I can at everything, so yeah, it’s definitley more challenging… but I wouldn’t say it was any more or less rewarding. Like, Punch Drunk Love, that was still a great movie to work on. And this latest thing I did, Reign Over Me, that was a really unusual part, too."

DM: "That’s the one about 9/11, isn't it?"

AS: “Well, it’s kind of after 9/11 about a guy who loses his family and it’s all about how he adjusts to life following such a huge loss like that. It was really cool and at the same time heartbreaking. I can't really say any more about that at the moment."

Back to Click....

DM: "Having recently become a father yourself, could you therefore relate better to some of the themes such as fatherhood and the difficulties of making time for family portrayed in Click?"

AS: "Man, I’m just like this character. I’m always working. ALWAYS. You might wanna cover your mouth ‘cause this might make you wanna you puke when I say it but as soon as I finished making this thing, the first thing I wanted to do was just go back home and spend time with my family. That’s what counts."

DM: "Scorcese has De Niro, Burton has Depp, Spielberg has Hanks, but now it seems director Frank Coraci has Adam Sandler. This is, after all, the fourth film you’ve worked together on, is it not?"

AS: "Oh, me and Frank’ll still be making films together in the afterlife, man. Wait, didn’t we already do that in Little Nicky? Well, kind of. But no, we’re great friends and great collaborators. It’s amazing when you look at the journey we’ve been on; we were at NYU together, he got me into a load of things like punk rock and these cool bars and I just got just him into loads of fights. But I think there’s always been a little bit of Frank in me and a little bit of me in Frank. Oooh, that sounds so gross, doesn’t it?"

Speaking of Hanks....

DM: "You’ve been compared to Tom Hanks in the way he made a very similar transition from 80’s comedy icon in films like Big, Joe vs Volcano and Turner and Hooch to the more serious brand of roles like Philadelphia, Saving Private Ryan and Catch Me If You Can. Do you see any similarites between the two of you?"

AS: "I don’t know… I do get asked this question a lot, about the ‘more serious’ stuff, but I just love doing what I love and that’s getting to act like a big kid. If people want to pay me for acting like a grown-up, that’s okay, but I'm very lucky and grateful to be do something that I already love, whatever it is."

DM: "You grew up in the 80s. What was it like working with a regular era icon like David Hasselhoff?"

AS: "A lot of people see Dave as this big, bulking guy from the 80s who’ll kill you with a look if you dare speak to him or make a joke about his hair. But he’s really just a regular guy who showed that he’s willing to poke fun at himself, which is more than most people are willing to do. Plus, getting to fart in his face was so cool! He could’ve been really weird about it but I think he actually enjoyed it."

Think that just about says it all.

© David Mahmoudieh 2006