What If You Had a Universal Remote.... That Control Your Universe?
Review:
Adam Sandler portrays Michael Newman, a family man whose busy career as an architect doesn’t leave much time for his wife, Donna (Kate Beckinsale), and two kids. Unable to figure out which of his many remotes turns on the television, he goes shopping for a universal remote and finds the perfect device through Morty (Christopher Walken), who gives him a one-of-a-kind remote with magical powers. With each click, Michael is able to control his career and personal life. But complications arise when the remote starts to overrule his choices.
Click Trailer:
| My rate & Comment | * * * Just fun to watch. Click! |
| Directed by | Frank Coraci |
| Produced by | Jack Giarraputo, Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe, Adam Sandler |
| Written by | Mark O'Keefe, Steve Koren |
| Starring | Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken, Henry Winkler, Julie Kavner, David Hasselhoff |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | Australia June 22, 2006 United States June 23, 2006 United Kingdom Ireland September 29, 2006 |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $237,681,299 |
Plot:
Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) is an architect whose desire for promotion leads him to assume many tasks on behalf of his boss John Ammer (David Hasselhoff), with the result that he is often missed by his family. One night, Michael goes in search of a universal remote control for his appliances. Finding most stores closed, he enters the still open Bed, Bath and Beyond, where in the "Way Beyond" section he meets Morty (Christopher Walken), an eccentric inventor who gives him a remote control answering to the description of "universal", warning Michael that it can never be returned.
To Michael's amazement, he finds out that the remote is literally universal, in that it controls the universe (as seen from his perspective) and interprets his wishes, even learning to anticipate them. After having used it to fulfill momentary whims, Michael "fast-forwards" himself to the promotion that he thought to be three months away, but which is in fact one year in his future. Further use of the remote control reveals that it is automatically programmed to skip or fast-forward through sickness, sexual intercourse, bathing, traffic, arguments with Michael's wife Donna, and promotions. In each case, he is alive but "on autopilot" during the interim, so he has no conscious experience of it. This presents a problem, in that during such interims his behavior is mechanical and unresponsive to the actions of others, alienating him further from his wife and children. Having learned of these effects, he attempts to rid himself of the control, but cannot.
Michael later goes to work by bicycle, wearing his bathrobe, to avoid automatically fast-forwarding through traffic or showering. When he arrives at work on his first day as his ex-boss's business partner, Ammer queries his lax dress-code and is convinced by his explanation. He is so impressed by Michael's answer that he, again, gives him a promotion. Thereafter, Michael is put into "autopilot" for ten years until the year 2017, where he finds that Donna has divorced him and married their son's former swimming instructor Bill while Michael himself has become grossly overweight, as has his son Ben. Samantha, Michael and Donna's daughter, has become prone to attending orgies. Later, Michael and Donna begin to argue, whereupon Michael's remote control "fast-forwards" him to the year 2023, just as Michael is knocked unconscious by the family's third dog. Having been, in his concussion, diagnosed with cancer, he is "fast-forwarded" through a period of serious sickness. When he wakes up, he is no longer fat, but retains copious quantities of loose skin as a result of liposuction. Later, he finds that his son Ben has lost weight and is now taking over his father's work, while Samantha has become her brother's friend. Here, Ben reveals that Michael's father Ted died during Michael's sickness. With the aid of the remote control, Michael attends his father's grave and learns that he had insulted his father shortly prior to the latter's death, but had never apologized. During Michael's grief, Morty appears and reveals that he (Morty) is the Angel of Death, a revelation that may explain his name, which includes the syllable "mort", a French synonym of the English "Death". Upon hearing this, Michael tries to attack Morty, but is unable to do so owing to the other's ability of teleportation.
Michael then transfers himself seven years into the future, to arrive at Ben's wedding in 2030. There he hears Samantha calling Bill "Dad" and is thereby shocked into breaking one of his own arteries. He is saved by Ben and Samantha, who transport him to a hospital. There, Ben suggests that he, like Michael, will attend more to his work than to his wife Julie, frightening his father. Michael, despite Morty's warnings, discards the instruments keeping him alive and walks out into a heavy downpour to warn Ben of the danger. He succeeds, but dies in the act of doing so. His death is witnessed by Ben, Samantha, and Donna, who mourn him as he loses consciousness.
There is then a white flash, and Michael wakes up on a displayed bed in Bed, Bath and Beyond, alive. Believing his misadventure to have been a dream, he rushes to visit his father, ultimately atoning for his insult and inviting his parents to dine with him each day. He then hastens to reassure Donna, Ben, and Samantha of his affection for them and for his dog Sundance. At the end of the movie, Michael finds the familiar remote on his kitchen counter, bearing a note from Morty stating "Michael, like I said, good guys need a break. I know you'll do the right thing this time, Love Morty. P.S. Your wife's rockin' body still drives me crazy". This shows that the misadventure was not all a dream, but Morty has rewound Michael's life back to this point to give him another chance. Learning what he must do as well as what he must avoid doing, Michael throws the remote aside and begins to enjoy life.
Source: Wiki
