What A Life

When traveling more than eight hours in an airplane in the middle of the day, you look for something to make the time go by quickly. On my recent return from France, I watched the movie “Click” with Adam Sandler. I had seen it advertised and I was not going to “waste my money” on a plot that seemed so ridiculous.

However, I was pleasantly surprised.

“Click,” rated PG-13 for language, sex-related humor, and some drug references, has a deep religious message.

Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) spends all of his time trying to achieve a partnership at his architectural firm with an arrogant taskmaster Mr. Ammer (David Hasselhoff). He neglects his family life – his devoted wife, Donna (Kate Beckinsale), and his two well-behaved children who want nothing more than quality time with their dad.

Frustrated from time wasted fumbling with his household’s growing collection of remote controls, Michael goes shopping late at night for a universal remote. He ends up at Bed Bath and Beyond, the first store that is open, and quickly discovers what “Beyond” really means.

In the back room, he meets an eccentric scientist named Morty (Christopher Walken), who presents Michael with the mother of all remotes, sure to “rock your world.”

The remote not only operates the TV and other appliances, but Michael’s entire life as well. He can take control of everything in the palm of his hand. He can mute those pesky annoyances that keep him from getting work done. He can fast-forward through the menial chores that keep him from relaxing. He can pause time itself to gather his thoughts, skipping back to the past to recall important information. He can move ahead in his life instantly to get over a nasty cold or upcoming worry.

At first, everything seems to fall into place for Michael, professionally and personally. However, the remote learns his “viewing habits” and begins automatically to skip past moments that he has previously avoided.

Michael suddenly finds himself missing not just the frustrations of life, but also its greatest pleasures.

As simplistic as this notion sounds, “Click” is really an excellent parable on modern life. The remote is a symbol for our desire to control life. However, we cannot simply fast forward through life’s rough spots, because they’re intertwined with the simple joys.

If we simply waved a magic wand (or prayed to God) to erase the tough times, would life really be the same? Would we really be the same? We must always go through the cross to new life.

Toward the end of the movie, Michael comes to realize how he has wasted his life by shutting out his loved ones. He realizes he wanted material possessions so his family can live the “good life.” He was willing to sacrifice his own time with his family to obtain the good life. At the end he realized he had made a mistake and plans to go camping with his family on the weekend (and forever.) He is given a new opportunity to put his family first.

The story hits home because it is probably truer of more fathers (and mothers) than we would like to admit.

Suppose you had the opportunity to eliminate certain routines or stresses from your daily life? Would you do so? We all want to control life. We all want that super remote so we can click out life’s difficulties.

However, this is God’s world. We have to believe that God goes with us through “the valley of death.” Remember Jesus’ promise, “I will be with you always, until the end of the world.” Do we believe that or would we rather have that super remote?