Let's be real: Adam Sandler is VERY hit or miss. However, there is a movie that defies logic and blurs the line between good and bad. That movie is Click. Here's why Click is the best worst movie ever made. And yes, there are SPOILERS, but honestly does it really matter with this?
I think a majority of the population knows who Adam Sandler is and understand that most of his filmography is questionable at best. Sure, you have his good (The Waterboy, Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, 50 First Dates), his really good (Punch-Drunk Love, The Wedding Singer, Funny People), and his god tier status (Uncut Gems), but then you have his absolutely horrid (pretty much everything else). It's baffling because Adam Sandler has proven that he CAN emote more than a frat boy man-child, but he mainly chooses to lean on the immature side for laughs. But what if I told that there is a movie that caters to Sandler's farts-a-minute humor and his genuine acting skill? I know, it's very hard to believe, but there is such a movie that exists. That movie is 2006's Click. Truth be told, I actually tried watching Click when it originally came out almost 15 years ago. I couldn't get past the first 10 minutes because it was so bad. I didn't pick it up again until I saw someone on Reddit mention that they had cried during the movie, which was hard for me to believe considering that I know what laughless and emotionless baggage is usually attached to a typical Sandler flick. But then I saw that someone that I knew personally (actually two people now that I think of it) said that they had also cried during the movie. It didn't make sense to me, but I knew that I had to watch it for myself to see what everyone was talking about. So I put aside my dislike and disgust for the usual Adam Sandler dreck to push through Click. What I found was astounding. The summary of the movie: Adam Sandler plays Michael Newman, an architect who works himself to the point where he completely neglects his family, including his wife Donna (a surprisingly good Kate Beckinsale). He acquires a universal remote from Morty, portrayed by the wonderful Christopher Walken, that possesses magical qualities that allows him to fast forward through the more unpleasant and dull moments of his life. However he soon comes to realize that by fast forwarding through all of those moments of his life he missed out on valuable family time and important life lessons as result. Think It's A Wonderful Life, except not as timeless and definitely not as good. To be clear, Click is not a good movie. In fact, most of it is pretty bad. There's the usual Sandler bag of gags that attempt to count as "humor": racial stereotyping, potty humor, endless sexual innuendo, dick jokes, misogyny, thinly veiled homophobia, fat shaming, etc. You know, REAL good humor. I would say that 85% of the jokes didn't land and I probably groaned at about 65% of that. It got so bad at one point that I had to put the subtitles up and mute it because it made me so uncomfortable. Admittedly, there was that 15% that did genuinely make me laugh or chuckle, but for the majority of the movie I was cringing at how tasteless it all was. Before I dive into what makes this movie confounding, I will say that the supporting cast was actually pretty decent but unfortunately there wasn't enough screen time for them (Henry Winkler, Julie Kavner, Sean Astin, Jennifer Coolidge, hell even David Hasselhoff wasn't bad). Except Rob Schneider. Rob Schneider is never funny. The first two acts of the movie play out like your usual Adam Sandler lowbrow comedy, but once we dive into the third act, there is some seriously unexpected emotional depth. Granted, yes, there are still some awful moments, but there are three moments that not only displayed exceptional acting from Sandler but also incredible competence in filmmaking in general, which is saying a lot from director Frank Coraci. I guess I'll forgive him for that awful Around the World in 80 Days remake (Don't remember it? Probably for the best). Now, director Coraci is no Frank Capra and Adam Sandler is sure as hell no James Stewart, but man when they hit you with that emotional stuff it hits you right where it hurts man: the heart. The first moment is when Michael goes to the future (15 years I think?) and sees the moment where he last sees his dad. Michael sees himself toiling away with an important project when his dad and son come in to see if he wants to join them on a "guy's weekend". He impatiently turns them away and angrily reveals to his dad that he knew about his quarter trick long ago (the quarter trick is a running gag throughout the whole film). His dad sadly accepts this and tells Michael that he loves him, marking this as the last interaction between father and son. Michael pauses the moment with the remote, unable to comprehend that this was going to be the last time he'd see his dad. He rewinds hearing his dad saying "I love you", pausing it to tell him that he loves him as well and giving him a final kiss on the cheek. This scene is so fantastically done that it's hard for me to believe that this came from the same movie where a man jumps on a desk to fart on his boss's face. The tears weren't there yet for me, but they were starting. The second moment is also in the future where Michael attends his son Ben's wedding. There are many sweet moments in this scene, like when he sees his mother and when he dances with his now ex-wife Donna (I even mildly chuckled when Michael pauses the scene to pull down Bill's, Donna's new husband, pants down), but what sets this scene apart from the other scenes is the chaotic hysteria that ensues when Michael hears his daughter Samantha call Bill Dad. Unable to believe what he's heard, Michael suddenly has a heart attack. The room spins out of control for Michael while the rest of his family rushes to his side. But the real treat is seeing Christopher Walken's Morty, who has revealed himself to be an Angel of Death for Michael, devilishly dancing with the wedding band, adding to the heap of disorder and disarray of the dizzying scene. It's actually shot very well and surprised me with just how much competence and creativity there was put into this one moment. Didn't make me cry, but it did impress me. But the last moment, the moment that managed to implant itself as the emotional crux of the entire movie, is what sent me to tears. Michael is now in the hospital with his family by his side. Ben has cancelled his honeymoon to fix issues with the firm that Michael owns. Fearing that he will make the same mistakes as Michael did, he tells him to not ignore his wife. The nurse makes the family leave abruptly, but Michael cannot sit still and let them leave without telling them that he loves them. Ignoring the pleas from Morty to keep still, Michael gathers every bit of strength he can and follows them out of the hospital. Due to his weakened state, he collapses outside in the rain while his family rushes to his side. Knowing that his time is up, he tells his family that family should come first and that he loves them. And with that, Michael dies. Obviously that's not where it ends as Michael does not actually die, but wow what a tearjerker. It really hits where the heart is, and I think a big portion of that is due to Adam Sandler's absolute commitment to his authentic and genuine acting skill. I didn't want to believe what people were saying about this movie, but I believe them now. I cried like a baby during this scene. There was no stopping the tears. They were real. However, I wasn't crying over something dumb. I was crying over something genuine. I was crying over some legitimately great filmmaking and acting, something that hadn't been present for about 90% of the film. It's truly a bizarre moment in time when I'm crying over an Adam Sandler movie, but it happened and here I am to tell the tale. In conclusion, I'm not here to give this movie a rating. I'm simply here to tell you that an Adam Sandler movie did in fact make me cry. It was a terrible movie for the most part, with some horrific "jokes" that were supposed to played off for laughs not getting any laughs from me. But there was some serious heart and emotion to this movie, an element that's definitely absent for a good portion of Mr. Sandler's filmography. For that significant reason alone, I have to designate Click as quite possibly the best worst movie I've ever seen. If you don't believe me, just watch it for yourself on Netflix. I mean, we're still in quarantine, y'all got something else better to do?
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AuthorBuster Bigelow: 30 year old lover of movies, cinema, and music. Whether you agree or disagree with my reviews, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments! Archives
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