"Click" loathings

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These ass-whoopings of Adam Sandler's Click are loads of fun to read, mainly because they're so damn personal. These critics don't just hate Sandler's latest -- they hate him through and through. "What's wrong with this movie isn't the movie, it's Sandler himself," says the Washington Post's Stephen Hunter. "His sensibility and sense of humor are aggressively hostile, [and his character] is a selfish, self-absorbed, smug little weenie who turns on everybody at the drop of a hat, who cheats to succeed, who brutalizes his children, who screams at his wife, and who looks to be a pretty mediocre architect in the bargain." L.A. Weekly critic Scott Foundas echoes this by calling Click "the strongest dose yet of the anger, self-loathing and infantilism that lie at the heart of SandlerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s screen persona." And guess what? Click is likely to do better than $40 million this weekend.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 23, 2006 at 4:55 PM

comment #1

Dixon Steele says ...

Just saw CLICK at a matinee today and while, yes, it is typically Sandleresque (the kids are over-the-top cutesy, a humping dog gag is driven into the ground, poop/fart jokes etc.), the last act of the movie is practically devoid of comedy and goes totally serious (at least for Sandler). So I kinda liked it for that. But not that much.

But it was a work of genius compared to the film I saw afterwards, NACHO LIBRE. Really, what a piece of CRAP!!!

Posted by Dixon Steele at June 23, 2006 8:10 PM

comment #2

Roddy Reta says ...

Aw, the critics hate Adam Sandler? Who knew? I guess they got tired of the Da Vinci Code bashing.

Posted by Roddy Reta at June 23, 2006 9:25 PM

comment #3

Chris says ...

20-30 years from now, our kids and grandkids are not going to BELIEVE that Sandler made a film like "Punch-Drunk Love." ... I mean, he damn near deserved an Oscar nominatin for his acting in that film. He was terrific. ... What a waste.

Posted by Chris at June 23, 2006 10:30 PM

comment #4

Nick says ...

One of these days, critics will all make a realization: if they were to all get together and just load heaps of praise on Adam Sandler's latest dumb-as-rocks comedy, nobody would go see it and he would have to wisen up and do some good work for a change. Sandler endures because critics generally hate him, thats my theory anyway.

Posted by Nick at June 23, 2006 10:43 PM

comment #5

Larry says ...

I'm not fan of Sandler, but he's at his best in his own projects. Punch-Drunk Love and Spanglish are unwatchable.

Posted by Larry at June 23, 2006 11:59 PM

comment #6

Bob says ...

Having seen the movie tonight, I think the hostility is unwarranted. It's flawed, like most of Sandler's self-produced movies are because all of the usual "sandlerisms" are in there even when they don't belong. Even though the gross-out jokes are scaled back to "Wedding Singer" levels here, he still stops the film constantly to squeeze in the self-mandated cameos for Rob Schneider and his dog, and the supporting cast is still full of people named for his close-knit group of buddies. Every time one of these bits comes up, it stops the first and second acts cold... which is a shame because there's a really clever movie poking out around their edges.

But once that stuff basically vanishes for the third "sad" act... I know, it's sentimental, but I don't care. I was tearing up, and I wasn't the only (male) at the show doing so. They should've released this around Father's Day and skewed the marketing a little older, they could've had a pretty big thing on their hands.

Posted by Bob at June 24, 2006 12:29 AM

comment #7

Chris says ...

Punch-Drunk Love "unwatchable"?

Oh my....

Posted by Chris at June 24, 2006 10:31 AM

comment #8

Donlee says ...

God, I love how Wells quotes thing out of context. From the same review LA Weekly review that he didn't finish reading obviously:

"Surely, nobody else could package the tragedy of a ridiculous man as a featherweight farce and have it turn into what I suspect will be a major hit. Sandler is young yet, but he could end up one of the genius men in American comedy."

Posted by Donlee at June 24, 2006 11:27 PM

comment #9