Click (12A)

Pssst! Pass me that remote...

Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) is like the hero in almost every Hollywood film these days: he's a gifted architect who's in the office too much to spend any quality time with his ridiculously beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) and his two adorable children. The answer to his prayers is a magical remote control given to him by a mad scientist - a scientist who's so mad, in fact, that he's played by Christopher Walken. By pressing the right button, Newman can Fast-Forward through traffic jams, Rewind to cherished memories, Mute his wife when they're arguing, and Pause his boss (David Hasselhoff) long enough to punch him in the face.

I'm sure we've all wished that we could fast-forward through life now and then. I, for one, wish it whenever I'm watching an Adam Sandler film, not because I want to zip through the whole thing, necessarily, but just so I can avoid the disturbing scenes in which the producer-star behaves like an eight-year-old with a personality disorder. Basically, Sandler flat-out refuses to make a film which doesn't have him swearing, farting, beating someone up, humiliating a small child, gawping at a pneumatic bimbo, and giggling at an animal having sex.

All the usual Sandlerisms are there in Click, but if you could fast-forward through them you'd be left with a smart update of It's A Wonderful Life, inventively written by the team behind Bruce Almighty. If only I could find the button which deletes Sandler and replaces him with Jim Carrey.

n.barber@independent.co.uk