Click (2006 film)

Click
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Frank Coraci
Produced by	Jack Giarraputo Steve Koren Mark O'Keefe Adam Sandler Neal H. Moritz
Written by	Mark O'Keefe Steve Koren
Narrated by	James Earl Jones (uncredited)
Starring	Adam Sandler Kate Beckinsale Christopher Walken Henry Winkler Julie Kavner Jennifer Coolidge David Hasselhoff
Music by	Rupert Gregson-Williams
Cinematography	Dean Semler
Editing by	Jeff Gourson
Studio	Revolution Studios Happy Madison Productions Original Film
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	June 22, 2006(United States) June 23, 2006(Australia/United Kingdom)
Running time	97 minutes [2006 version] 100 minutes [2010 extended version]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$82.5 million
Box office	$237,681,299[1]

Click is a 2006 sci-fi comedy-drama film directed by Frank Coraci and written by Mark O'Keefe and Steve Koren. It stars Adam Sandler as an overworked architect who neglects his family and misses most of his life when he receives a remote-control device that enables him to skip over unpleasant events. It also stars Kate Beckinsale as his wife and Christopher Walken as the man who gives him the device. This film is loosely based on R.L. Stine short story of the same name.

Filming began in late 2005 and was finished by early 2006. The film was released in North America on June 23, 2006 by Columbia Pictures. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Makeup.

Plot

Michael Newman (Adam Sandler), an architect, is married to his longtime sweetheart Donna (Kate Beckinsale) with two children, Ben and Samantha. Michael is easily pushed around by his overbearing boss Mr. Ammer (David Hasselhoff). On numerous occasions, Michael willingly sacrifices time with his family to work so he can give them the kinds of material possessions his parents never gave him as a boy.

One night, after Michael loses his temper at the number of remote controls in the house, he goes in search of a universal remote control. At a Bed Bath & Beyond, Michael falls onto a bed and then proceedes to the section marked "Beyond." There, he meets a mysterious clerk named Morty (Christopher Walken), who gives him a "universal" remote control and warns that it can never be returned.

To Michael's amazement, he finds that the remote can control the actual universe, particularly time. Michael uses it to skip fights with Donna, go forward until he rids himself of a cold, and skip a family dinner to work. Later, Morty reveals that when Michael fast-forwards through time, his body is on "auto-pilot" - his mind skips ahead, while his body does everyday life.

After Mr. Ammer promises Michael a partnership position within a few months, he decides to skip ahead to it, but ends up skipping a year of his life since it took him that long to actually get the promotion. Michael also finds out that he is in marriage counseling and missed the death of his dog. When the remote begins fast-forwarding without Michael controlling it, Morty warns the remote programs itself according to Michael's previous commands. Michael's various attempts to dispose of or destroy the remote fails. The next day, Mr. Ammer tells Michael he is leaving the country, and in the course of the conversation, Michael reveals his desire to be CEO in 2007. The remote reacts and fast-forwards ten years to 2017. Michael is now the CEO, but is obese, lives alone, his children are teenagers and hate him and he is divorced from Donna. Michael visits his old house and, after fighting with Donna, the new family dog pounces on him, and he falls and hits his head.

The remote having "learned" from Michael having skipped his cold, it transports him six years into the future, as he had not been healthy a single day over those six years: Donna recounts how a precautionary MRI scan after the fall revealed cancer, and how Michael ate so prolifically during chemotherapy as to subsequently suffer from a heart attack. In those six years, Michael is no longer obese thanks to liposuction, Donna has re-married Ben's old swim coach, Bill, and Ben has gone into his father's line of work. Ben tells Michael his father Ted died, and Michael uses the remote to view the last time they spoke. While on auto-pilot, Michael angrily rejected Ted's offer for a night out with him and Ben. During Michael's grief, Morty reveals he is the Angel of Death. Fearing him, Michael wants to go to a "happy time", and fast forwards to Ben's wedding. There, he witnesses Samantha call Bill "Dad", and the shock triggers a second heart attack. When Michael awakens, Morty appears to tell him that he chose his path and there is nothing he can do about it. Michael's family arrives and Ben reveals that he has cancelled his honeymoon in order to work on an important deal that will keep his business going. Not wanting Ben to make the same mistakes he did, Michael rushes after him. A nurse attempts to stop him but Michael manages to jab the man with a sedative. He ignores Morty's warnings that he will die if he is not hooked up to the machines in the hospital. Michael reaches his family and convinces Ben that family comes first; he reassures the rest that he loves them and then passes away.

There is a white flash, and Michael wakes up in the present day on the bed he collapsed onto at the Bed Bath & Beyond, believing that the events have all been "a dream." He makes amends with his father, and reassures Donna, Ben, and Samantha of his affection for them and that he will never sacrifice them for work again. As he celebrates being home, Michael finds the remote and a note sitting on his kitchen counter. After reading the note, which states that Morty knew Michael would do the right thing this time, and realizing he actually experienced the events, he throws the remote in the trash and goes to start his new life with his family.

Depiction of the future

The film predicts numerous future events and inventions between the 2010s and 2030s. Some of these have been proven untrue. Michael Jackson is mentioned as the first human to clone himself (he died in 2009 in reality), and Britney Spears is said to have had her 27th baby, prompting her husband, Kevin Federline to get a job (her divorce has made this impossible). Many futuristic devices are seen, including larger flat screen TVs (already commonplace and a popular element of sci fi future films), personal electronic scooters for moving about in office buildings, and portable bars in offices. One of the futuristic cars seen in the movie is the Cadillac Sixteen and the SeaStreak ferries still operate in New York City. Two Freedom Towers are seen in the skyline of a futuristic New York City (though only one tower is being built).

Cast

• Adam Sandler as Michael Newman
• Kate Beckinsale as Donna Newman, Michael's wife.
• Christopher Walken as Morty, the Angel of Death.
• David Hasselhoff as John Ammer, Michael's boss.
• Henry Winkler as Ted Newman, Michael's father.
• Julie Kavner as Trudy Newman, Michael's mother.
• Sean Astin as Bill, Ben's swim coach and Donna's second husband.
• Jennifer Coolidge as Janine, Donna's clingy and crazy best friend.
• Joseph Castanon as Ben Newman, Michael's son, at 7 years old.
• Tatum McCann as Samantha Newman, Michael's daughter, at 5 years old.
• Jonah Hill as Ben at 17 years old.
• Lorraine Nicholson as Samantha at 14 years old.
• Jake Hoffman as Ben at 30 years old.
• Katie Cassidy as Samantha at 27 years old.
• Cameron Monaghan as Kevin O'Doyle, one of Ben's friends.
• Rachel Dratch as Alice / Alan
• Sophie Monk as Stacey
• Michelle Lombardo as Linda
• Elliot Cho as Ping Woo
• Rob Schneider as Prince Habeeboo (Uncredited)
• James Earl Jones as The Narrator/Himself (Uncredited)
• Terry Crews as guy singing Loverboy's Working for the Weekend in car. (Uncredited)
• Nick Swardson as Bed Bath & Beyond employee (Uncredited)

Reception

Critical response

Click received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 32% based on 164 reviews, giving the film a "Rotten" rating. The average score is a 4.8 out of 10, with the overall consensus being "This latest Adam Sandler vehicle borrows shamelessly from It's a Wonderful Life and Back to the Future, and fails to produce the necessary laughs that would forgive such imitation."^[2] Metacritic gave it a score of 45 out of 100 which indicates "mixed or average reviews".^[3]

Box office

As of June 3, 2007, Click has grossed $137,355,633 in the United States and $100,325,665 internationally, with a total gross of $237,681,299 worldwide.^[1]

Awards and nominations

• Academy Award for Best Makeup (Nominated)
• 33rd People's Choice Awards: Favorite Movie Comedy (Won)
• 2007 Kids' Choice Awards: Favorite Movie (Nominated)
• 2007 Kids' Choice Awards: Favorite Movie Actor (Won)

Soundtrack

1. The Cars - "Magic"
2. The Kinks - "Do It Again"
3. The Offspring - "Come Out and Play"
4. Gwen Stefani - "Cool"
5. Carole King - "I Feel the Earth Move"
6. Irving Gordon - "Be Anything (but Be Mine)"
7. Parliament - "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)
8. Boots Randolph - "Yakety Sax"
9. Walter Wanderley - "Summer Samba"
10. Peter Frampton - "Show Me the Way (Peter Frampton song)"
11. Captain & Tennille - "Love Will Keep Us Together"
12. Toto - "Hold the Line"
13. T. Rex - "20th Century Boy"
14. Tears for Fears - "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
15. Nazareth - "Love Hurts"
16. The Andrea True Connection - "More, More, More"
17. Loverboy - "Working for the Weekend"
18. The Cranberries - "Linger"
19. Frank Sinatra - "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die"
20. The Strokes - "Someday"
21. Ric Ocasek - "Feelings Got to Stay"
22. Jimmy Van Heusen - "Call Me Irresponsible"
23. U2 - "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)"
24. Air Supply - "Making Love Out of Nothing at All"
25. New Radicals - "You Get What You Give"

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Click (2006). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
2. ^ Click Movie Reviews, Pictures. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
3. ^ Click Reviews, Ratings, Credits. Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-10-29.

External links

• Official website
• Click at the Internet Movie Database
• Click at AllRovi
• Click at Rotten Tomatoes
• Click at Box Office Mojo
• Adam Sandler Interview for Click