Movies

Click Review

Adam Sandler's movies are usually predictable and quite funny. You
pretty much know you'll laugh a fair bit and be taught a lesson on
life, kind of like the average sitcom, except his jokes tend to be
funnier and the humour a tad more crude.

I was expecting to see the best comedy of the summer going into this,
and I wasn't disappointed. The first two thirds of the movie are very
funny and the pace is excellent. Beckinsale is great as his wife, as is
Morty, the Bed, Bath and Beyond employee who gives him the universal
remote control. Plenty of people are already talking about Hasselhoff's
role as Sandler's boss, but the supporting role I found even better was
played by Sean Astin, as the swim coach of Michael's son. There are
plenty of great one-liners at his expense and he provides some good
comic relief later on in the film. Another great supporting part is
Monaghan as the snotty, spoiled kid next door. He torments Sandler
constantly and Sandler fires right back, providing for some very funny
scenes.

I was wondering how they planned on keeping it funny for two hours, and
this was the only thing that didn't happen. The first half of the movie
is very funny, but then it gets into the life lesson part of the movie
as the remote control starts fast forwarding on its own, and Sandler is
left with gaps in his life. Each time it fast forwards, another part of
his life is gone, and he is sadder for it.

All in all, the film is essentially a modern retelling of either
Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" or Dicken's "Scrooge", as the main
character learns a lesson on his priorities and how they affect his
life. The only real question is will he learn it in time to make things
right.