Tuning into your life Warning do not read unless seen movie.
This is one of my favorite fantasy films of all time (if you can believe that) as well as my favorite films from Adam Sandler, that I feel as time went on has gotten better with age as the subject matter has become more relevant today as it did then.
Adam Sandler is an honorable mention in my personal favorite comedic actors of mine and this film I feel was one of his best in my book because it was something different. I always like it whenever we see particular actors/actress break out of their comfort zone, to me it's a nice break from what we get to use to seeing; it just shows how they're not one trick pony acts but actually capable of more and have a lot more to offer.
I really like the fantasy story as it's pretty much your "Twilight Zone" like fantasy tale, but I like those because they're our modern day "Brothers Grimm" and "Folklore", but just their simplistic nature which is sometimes all I really want and need from the "Fantasy" genre.
It's basically the simple story we've heard many times of the ordinary guy who is given a gift that is a blessing at first but becomes a curse later. It's nothing new as there are plenty of stories of that like from the TV show "Friday the 13th the series" (sort of and a show I reviewed); but it's really in its execution that makes it stand out.
The characters are all solid as their all played by a solid ensemble cast which is something I don't see enough of anymore. It's also surprising how this film not just has a lot of familiar faces like TV alumni from Herry Winkler, David Hasselhoff, and Julie Calver (voice of Marge Simpson). But some even before they were stars like Terry Crews and Jonnah Hill; it's always fun to spot those people just to see where they started and how far they've truly came along.
There is Christopher Walken who plays Morty, I find it sort of ironic as he sort of looks a little like the character from the TV show "Rick and Morty" even the remote device he offers is uncannily like the remote device Morty uses to travel. Hmmm, wonder if the creator of that show also watched this film.
Anyway, he's good as usual as he has that dry quirky humorous nature to him. Like one moment when he's singing along with Mike to the song "We want the Funk". Or even what he says about Kate Beckinsale's character which is funny because it's true as most protagonists in comedies are always paired up with someone that seems out of their league.
But his character is like in all fantasy tales the mysterious mentor/guide figure for Mike as we see not just he's trying to guide him on the functions of the remote but also life counsel for Mike on where he's going and what direction he wants to go.
Kate Beckinsale whom is one of my favorite actresses and of course one of my celeb crushes as to me she is one of the hottest women on the planet. I'll admit I never thought I'd ever see her in an Adam Sandler film but sometimes the films I least expect them to be in can be the best kind if movies and this is one of them for me. I really like her character as she just has that beautiful down to earth level headedness to her, but I also like there is a little spunk, energy and quirkiness to her, which makes her all the more human and beautiful. Both her and Mike have solid chemistry you, I bought them as a married couple that have a deep history together.
And of course, Adam Sandler as Mike. His character is slightly different from some of the other characters Adam plays. Mike, we see isn't perfect but he's not a bad bet, as we know he's truly a good guy at heart but he's just turning into the wrong channel is all. Where he's tuned into his work and ambition instead of his family.
Really like the remote device he has as its probably something we all desire as it's a way to enhance or even turn our life around in some way. Personally, I'd use some of the functions on the remote but not all as we see there is one feature that is completely off limits and for good reason. This remote in a way just give you almost God like powers, like pausing at certain moments which could give you time to either get out of a jam, alter the course of it, or just anything else you can think of. Or even the rewind function where you can investigate portions of your past, which is great if you need to remember something or simply have the feeling of nostalgia.
As you can easily guess Mike is having a ball with the remote it's just fun and games seeing him explore its capabilities and having that usual Sandler comedic fun like in one scene changing the color on himself, though always wondered what jokes he might have put in on other colors to change to.
But the party is quickly over because like with any mystical or accursed object there are always unforeseen dire consequences. The remote has a fast forward function, we can see how Mike gets attracted by this function as it pretty much gives you the ability to travel forwards into the future. However, the catch to that is that once you do there is no going back, it's literally a one-way trip. Another thing is while your travel to the future your body is on autopilot where you simply going thought the motions without any awareness or feeling, you can say you're like a walker from "The Walking Dead" sort of. Once Mike starts to misuse and abuse this feature that's when we start to get highly concerned, as well as feel a sense of ominous dread and doom.
This shows the flip side of the coin with time travel but also just looking too far into the future showing how it's not such a wonderful thing and that there is a good reason why we shouldn't. Mike's Achilles heel is that he's too far ahead of himself, he's in too big of a hurry to get ahead or for things to simply happen right now. By using the fast forward function he's cheating himself, even though he's made certain achievements, he's also missed out on a lot of what was happening in the life of his family and his own. Like deriving himself of let just say romantic activity with his wife, all because of his pathetic impatience. Things like that just show why the easy way isn't always the best way; in fact, it's downright dangerous.
I really like how the film really makes you think and reflect on your own life as this film really tackles a lot of themes that are relatable issues; from the one I mentioned on taking the easy way out to others.
One favorite scene of mine from the character is when Morty tells Mike the metaphor about the Lucky Charms Leprechaun and it's really deep because it's true as it talks about the danger of ambitious pursuit, how we can pursue what we think we want only to realize too late once we get there that it's not what we dreamt it was. And as we see Mike learns the hard way on this, despite how much he's achieved in a short time from the remote, he's also sacrificed too much valuable time, time he can't get back as Mike's life is spilling out faster than the sand can fill the other end of the hourglass.
Which gets at another which is on the danger of living your life on autopilot which is a deeply troubling issue today as it was then as the autopilot mental illness has now become epidemic and is another one of the factors in the current mental health crisis. It's basically on how we easily fall into that trap of committing to a particular mindset, mainly focusing so much on work, and putting certain things off for the long run, but not realizing what is happening in the present nor how much time has gone by. It can be a disarming and scary feeling as it happened to a lot of people when they were literally unaware that weeks and even months are gone.
This parallels with Mike's addiction to junk food throughout the movie, as we see him down a few too many Hostess snacks. And of course, we see how that affects him in the future, which I'll just say will put off anyone eating junk food for a very long time. But it just goes to show that if you ever find this happening to you, immediately take a step back and tell yourself to stop. And reflect on where your life is going and ask yourself what you haven't done, what you want and should do, and where you want to go. Because living your life on autopilot isn't living and may take you someplace you don't want to go.
And of course, we get to the big message of the whole film at least in my book, there is one famous scene which to me is one of the saddest moments ever and I'll admit it really put a tear or two in my eyes and always choked me up, I won't say what it is as it's a scene that speaks for itself. But seeing that just made me even more grateful and thankful for the time I had with my family and friends, because you never truly know how much time you have with any of them until it's all over.
To me the message is that none of us truly have all the time in the world. Time can sometimes tick away faster than you think and could even end faster than a press on the remote, so make sure you spend it wisely, with what truly matters in life, and most importantly with the people you love.
Always tune into life, because you never know what you could be missing.
Rating: 4 stars.