Written by: Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com

What if you had a Universal Remote that, literally, controlled your universe, allowing you to rewind and fast-forward reality? That's the premise for this new Adam Sandler vehicle that recycles not only "It's a Wonderful Life" but also "A Christmas Carol" with a nod to Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle."

Ambitious architect Michael Newman (Sandler) is a junk-food gobbling, stressed-out workaholic who wanders into the ‘Way Beyond' section of Bed, Bath and Beyond, where he encounters Morty (Christopher Walken), who gives him the prototype of a new Universal Remote. Once home, Michael discovers he can mute his wife (Kate Beckinsale), fast-forward through a marital spat and dinner with his parents (Henry Winkler, Julie Kavner), pause to belt his boss (David Hasselhoff), rewind not only to his youth but also to his conception and - best of all - place his life on auto-pilot, skipping day-to-day drudgery. Complications occur when the gadget automatically accesses his preferences, zipping through the 10 years it takes for him to achieve success which encompasses his kids' entire childhoods. Suddenly, life is passing him by and he can't stop it.

Written by Steve Koren and Mark O'Keefe (creators of the eerily similar "Bruce Almighty") and directed by Frank Coraci ("The Waterboy," "The Wedding Singer"), it's filled with the usual goofy, often vulgar, Sandler schtick and lacks subtlety, but it also has a heart. In caricatures, David Hasselhoff parodies himself, Christopher Walken gets impish, Jennifer Coolidge re-visits brassy and Sean Astin, regrettably, cavorts in a Speedo. Most memorable is the genuine warmth of Henry Winkler and Julie Kavner. Most forgettable are scenes of various dogs continually humping a stuffed duck.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Click" is a sappy, sentimental 6, bearing a simple message: Cherish today!