SANDLER'S TRYING, BUT THIS ONE DOESN'T QUITE `CLICK'.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

Not since ``Little Nicky'' has an Adam Sandler movie tried as hard as ``Click'' does to be, well, a movie. The results are a little better this time out, too. The elements that are missing from most of the comedian's picture -- story sense, humanity, jokes worth more than 10 seconds of anyone's attention -- are here in abundance.

But it's too much abundance, as if the writers, Sandler and his frequent director Frank Coraci (``The Wedding Singer,'' ``The Waterboy'') were overcompensating for all of the wan, one-note comedies like ``Billy Madison'' and ``Big Daddy.''

There's enough plot in this one for a ``Back to the Future'' trilogy.

Almost as many digital effects, too, though they often look like leftover ESPN or Fox News graphics. And when the standard Sandler entertainments of tormenting children and stereotyping foreigners grow tiresome (well, honestly, quite awhile after that feeling sets in), the actor shifts into fully committed, self-pitying bathos.

Thank God they saved a fat suit for that stretch.

But while most of ``Click's'' gags may only be funny to Sandler's legion of fans, some cleverly engineered humor also works its way in.

Plus -- big plus -- there's Christopher Walken. And the film's premise is more-or-less well-exploited. It may all boil down to a cautionary tale that borrows shamelessly from ``It's a Wonderful Life,'' but when the comic energy is cooking, ``Click'' is diverting enough.

Sandler's Michael Newman is an up-and-coming New York architect with two adorable young kids (Joseph Castanon and Tatum McCann), a beautiful and generally nice wife, Donna (Kate Beckinsale), lovably goofy parents (Henry Winkler and Julie Kavner) and a demanding idiot of a boss, Ammer (David Hasselhoff).

Ammer makes Michael work on holidays so that he disappoints his children, which annoys Donna. Plus, he's got too many remote controls for too many electronic devices. One overworked, upset night, Michael heads out to buy a universal remote. He finds one in a store's hitherto unknown Beyond department.

That's where Walken's crazy-haired Morty works. Friendly enough -- if you can imagine Walken being friendly -- Morty is evidently a demonic figure. But Walken makes him so offbeat and ingratiating, even singing and dancing a bit in his inimitable way, that you love Morty more than fear him.

Anyway, Morty lays a special clicker on Michael that enables the harried householder to control his universe. Dog's barking or wife's friend is babbling? Mute them. Marital argument starting?

Fast-forward to the makeup sex. Boss dangling a partnership if a time- consuming design flies? Skip the time-consuming part and go straight to the promotion party.

Only trouble is, the remote is smart. It's designed to program itself to Michael's perceived preferences. And he can't override, nor get rid of it. Too much of a good thing is not just this movie's style, it's its very atomic essence.

Watching Sandler superficially yet intensely mature on screen is kind of creepy. His movies seem to be more and more about simple life lessons that most guys half his age understand, even if they don't always act according to them. Robin Williams' ``RV'' character goes down essentially the same path of workaholism-is bad discovery, and at least Sandler doesn't let his man become a complete fool in ``Click.'' But for all of his strenuous emoting, he never convinced me that Michael actually learned anything, either.

That's one part of moviemaking that can't be done by remote control.

Bob Strauss [phone]

[e-mail]

CLICK - Two and one half stars

(PG-13: language, crude and sex-related humor, some drug references )

Starring: Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken.

Director: Frank Coraci.

Running time: 1 hr. 38 min.

Playing: In wide release.

In a nutshell: Sandler's harried family man finds a universal remote that enables him to avoid all of life's problems -- but at a price. Ambitious for a silly/sappy Sandler farce, but it's a Sandler farce just the same.

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Wild-eyed Christopher Walken gives stressed-out family man Adam Sandler a walk-through on the universal remote in the crude cautionary tale ``Click.''