Seattlest probably isn't going to go see Adam Sandler's new movie Click. Momentarily setting aside the fact that we're a bit behind on our theatrical releases (haven't seen Inconvenient Truth and it's playing 5 blocks from the house), the flood of big name comedian vehicles have been disappointing lately. Word is even Nacho Libre sucks. Sandler hasn't made a good movie in... Has Sandler ever made a good movie?
The premise of Click is pretty thin which is odd for Sandler who normally goes for "high concept" type stuff (moron goes back to school, moron joins the PGA, moron's the devil). This time a moron gets a hold of a remote control that can manipulate the people around him. Fast forward through his wife's ranting, pause his boss so he can punch him in the face a few times - that kind of thing. It has to be a difficult gag to drag out over 90 minutes, especially when you consider that the Almost Live bit it was stolen from barely manged to strangle 3 minutes of humor from it.
We're pasting the Almost Live skit "Total Control" in total confidence that unless you're reading this at one in the morning you'll probably see nothing but a big blank space. Come back, Youtube, we love you. You can also try it directly on their site here.
This is the Almost Live skit that Scott Schaefer won a Northwest Emmy for in 1985. John Keister and Joe Guppy are in it. Scott said in an email:
At the time, we thought it was pretty cool to do the special effect of Keister walking forward while everyone in the entire Northgate Mall was "walking backwards." Of course, it was nothing more than shooting Keister walking backwards while holding the remote, then playing the tape backwards. Woo hoo.
The comedic masterminds behind Click may or may not have ripped off this skit wholesale, but even the original writer of the bit seems to get the fact that the ole walking backwards/filming backwards routine doesn't have the same mystique that it might once have had. TWENTY YEARS AGO!
As an aside, this also highlights the fact that either remote television control technology hasn't advanced an inch since 1985 or this movie was written by really old guys. In the trailer Sandler uses the remote to pause, fast-forward and play in slow motion. And, sadly, that's about all a television remote did in 1985 and that's all it can do today unless you count split-screen/picture-in-picture, menues, pay-per-view purchasing and your basic DVR/Tivo functionality. Which ain't much. What ever happend to interactive television? Is this the pinnacle of remote technology?
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Re: good Adam Sandler movies -- Punch-Drunk Love was very good, and The Wedding Singer has its minor charms. But Big Daddy is his highest grossing movie ever, and that sucked. So it's not like he's getting positive reinforcement from discerning audiences.
I heard this was based on the pornographic European comic book series of the same name by the legendary Milo Manara, but I may have heard wrong. A Click book by Manara thru this link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1561630845/103-9681142-2178231?v=glance&n=283155
That "moron" character is inherited from Charlie Chaplin's tramp, and Sandler played it well in Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore. He was great in The Wedding Singer. Other than that? ew.
I have to admit that I thought it was brilliant when he was doing it on SNL and in his early comedy albums. It's either starting to wear a little or he's becoming less adept at it.
I came here to mention Punch-Drunk Love and The Wedding Singer. But James beat me to it, so I won't bother.