Literary Criticism

The Plot Summary

Michael Newman (Adam Sandler), an architect, is married to his longtime sweetheart Donna (Kate Beckinsale) with two children, Ben and Samantha. Michael is easily pushed around by his overbearing boss Mr. Ammer (David Hasselhoff). On numerous occasions, Michael willingly sacrifices time with his family to work so he can give them the kinds of possessions he never had.

While going in search of a universal remote control at a Bed Bath & Beyond, Michael falls onto a bed and then proceeds to the section marked "Beyond." There, he meets a mysterious clerk named Morty (Christopher Walken), who gives him a "universal" remote control and warns that it can never be returned.

To Michael's amazement, he finds that the remote can control the actual universe, particularly time. Michael uses it to skip fights with Donna, go forward until he rids himself of a cold, and skip a family dinner to work. Later, Morty reveals that when Michael fast-forwards through time, his body is on "auto-pilot" - his mind skips ahead, while his body does everyday life.

The remote having "learned" from Michael having skipped his cold, it transports him six years into the future, as he had not been healthy a single day over those six years: Donna recounts how a precautionary CAT scan after the fall revealed cancer, and how Michael ate so prolifically during chemotherapy as to subsequently suffer from a heart attack. In those six years, Michael is no longer obese thanks to liposuction, Donna has married Bill, and Ben has gone into his father's line of work. Ben tells Michael his father Ted died, and Michael uses the remote to view the last time they spoke. While on auto-pilot, Michael angrily rejected Ted's offer for a night out with him and Ben. During Michael's grief, Morty reveals he is in fact the Angel of Death. Fearing him, Michael begs to go to a "good place", and fast forwards several years to Ben's wedding in 2031. There, he witnesses Samantha call Bill "Dad", and the shock triggers a second heart attack. When Michael awakens, Morty appears to tell him that he chose his path and there is nothing he can do about it. Michael's family arrives and Ben reveals that he has cancelled his honeymoon in order to work on an important deal that will keep his business going. Shocked and not wanting Ben to make the same mistakes he did, Michael rushes after him.

 As he celebrates being home, Michael finds the remote and a note sitting on his kitchen counter. After reading the note, which states that Morty knew Michael would do the right thing this time, and realizing he actually experienced the events, he throws the remote in the trash and goes to restart his life with his family.

The Interpretation

Click is about a man who receives a magical remote controller that allows him to flash back, stop and fast forward through time. He uses it to skip past moments in life that he finds mundane/boring (e.g. family dinner, shower, time taken to get to the next promotion, when he’s sick). Initially it seems fun, but after a while he found it comes with unexpected consequences, which you have to watch to find out.

This movie taught us that every moment in life is precious and feel as much gratitude about it as possible.