I really can’t believe I’m going to do this, but here it goes. Moriarty and Massawyrm just wrote reviews basically ripping CLICK for being a one trick pony comedy. I’m generally on record for heavily disliking Adam Sandler comedies. I just kinda find him annoying. Notable exception being PUNCH DRUNK LOVE, for me.

However, when I got in the car to head through rush hour traffic to get to the complete opposite side of Austin to see this film… it was for basically one reason. I liked the trailer. Specifically, I liked that gag of pausing, moving the one kid’s arm down, and the ball smacking that fucking kid right in the face. To me… hitting a little defenseless boy in the face with a baseball and humiliating him, without that kid knowing how or why he’d just been smacked in the face… Well, that’s comedy.

Simplistic? Absolutely, but it was just one of those… Hmmmm, this looks like a feature film adapted from that episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, “A Kind of A Stopwatch” which was always one of my fave gag TWILIGHT ZONEs. Updating the stop watch to the Remote Control seemed like a fun idea – and I went in knowing only that Adam Sandler and a remote control were in the film. I had no idea who the other characters or actors were – and I was expecting the one joke of the remote control to drive everything… because, that’s an Adam Sandler comedy… usually.

SO I went in expecting and wanting basically just that. What I got was a lot more.

You see – there’s all the remote control gags… but there’s a lot more. For one, there’s the constant animal sex with stuffed duck gag. Which, sure… that’s a lowest common denominator style humor… but… Think about it. Some animal trainer had to train… MULTIPLE ANIMALS to fuck a stuffed Ducky. Not only that, they had to shoot it. Meaning an entire crew was on set rooting for the dog to fuck the duck. And you know, and I know… that if you’re in a room of people watching a dog fuck the duck… that’s comedy. It’s just surreal. It was like an animated me wrestling Nacho Libre. This wasn’t high concept, but damn if the execution didn’t make me laugh like crazy… every time.

Then there was the whole foul mouthed kids factor. And just Adam Sandler fucking with little kids aspect. Like – this poor little Asian boy after a swim meet, that Adam accidentally mistakes as his own son, the boy looks up at him, “You’re not my daddy.” Sandler – without missing a beat – fires back, “As far as you know kid!” The boy becomes confused and believes that maybe Sandler is his father…. And begins to cry. FUCKING A!

I also love the neighbor’s kid that’s always using the status symbols of his rich family to take the piss out of Sandler and his family… and I love how Sandler uses that… I’m an adult and you’re a little fucking kid… and you’re going to lose type of rough attitude. Again… that’s just fun. All of their gags rock.

However, more than the Remote Control gags – more than the hilarious child abuse gags… what really floats my boat about this movie has to do with the supporting cast of characters that just made me feel happy to be watching them.

I love a good ridiculous David Hasselhoff character. Here, he’s playing Ammer, the boss at the architectural firm that Sandler’s Michael Newman works at. Hasselhoff just effortlessly performs ridiculous self-involvement. I love how all of the gals that work in his office are stunningly gorgeous – and how he manhandles all of them, and they like it… and he also gives a “Sexual Harassment Seminar” while sexually harassing his workers during the seminar. And yes, I know Sexual Harassment and Child Abuse are BAD, but when Hasselhoff and Sandler do them… it’s gold.

Then there’s Henry Winkler. Personally – I grew up worshipping this guy as the Fonz. When he had that Motorcycle stunt crash – I began crying watching that episode of HAPPY DAYS – here, he’s playing Sandler’s Dad. On one level – I was just happy to fucking see the Fonz in a movie. On another level – I was a little freaked out how much I thought that Henry Winkler actually kinda looked like Adam Sandler and how I would imagine his dad looking. Also – Winkler is playing the “grandpa” to Sandler’s pair of cute kids. What I love is that he knows a single magic trick involving biting off part of a quarter and then spitting it back into place. And he performs this one magic trick at every possible opportunity. WHAT A GREAT GRANDPA!!! I told Dad afterwards, that we need to take him to a magic shop and get him to work up one great magic trick that he can do… that he can always carry with him. And perform for his Grandson.

Oh – we also have Christopher Walken as the Angel of Death that works out of the “Beyond” section of BED, BATH & BEYOND. Now – I’ve recently bought a bunch of house products from BED, BATH & BEYOND – and was kinda freaked out about how weird the place was. And – isn’t it freaky how weird chain stores look when shot in a film. Because – they’re EXACTLY THE SAME. As a result – it really does look like a TWILIGHT ZONE episode. When I saw the door that says, “BEYOND” and the look on Sandler’s face… I agreed with him, I wanted to go through the door too. That Christopher Walken was behind the “BEYOND” door. That made a lot of sense. Walken is playing a kindly ol tinkerer with a “ya fucked yourself” sort of attitude. He gives you all the rope you want, but he’ll also tie it around your moose neck.

Sean Astin in a Speedo. Hilarity. Pure Hilarity.

However, the real winning charm of this movie was with Kate Beckinsale. Kate is drop dead gorgeous. There’s no denying that. Too often I feel she’s playing these “Ice Queen” action parts that just… well, leave me cold. Here though – she’s playing that perfect companion in life. The playful, understanding, concerned wife. First off, when your wife – that looks like Kate Beckinsale – says, “I’m going to put on my POCAHONTAS outfit” – quit your job, you’ve found heaven.

Probably the oddest part of Moriarty’s review – and the sign that he just wasn’t at this movie to have fun. Not necessarily something a reviewer can control – btw. Sometimes – you go into a movie and the seams pop out and you just pick on everything. To me – when he started ragging on Rick Baker and Cinovation’s make-up on this film – that’s when I realized he didn’t know what movie he was in. There’s several STYLES of make-up that one can choose to do in a movie. There’s realistic – where you exactingly apply and blend the make-up to create the perfect illusion of youth or old age. Where the stipple doesn’t show and you’ve created a seamless illusion meant to heighten and further your immersing venture into said cinematic tale. Then there’s the type of make-up that Rick Baker and Cinovation did here… which is for COMEDIC and FUNNY EFFECT. Drew’s absolutely right. The “Young Make-Up” for Winkler was just creepy and unreal – kinda like Rick Baker’s unreal Jew version of Eddie Murphy in COMING TO AMERICA. Where the cheeks aren’t quite powdered enough and the light bounces right off of em. It’s make-up that calls attention to itself and is meant to make one SMILE.

Is this film a “genius” comedy? No. But it is, for me, a really fun little movie. The sort of fun film where Hasselhoff will scream at his HOOTERS secretary about whether or not she shat in his lunch. The sort of fun film, where you could stop reality and kick Sean Astin in the balls 3 or 4 times. It’s just a fun little film, that for Sandler – wears its heart on its sleeve.