Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Rolling on Auto Pilot???

Yesterday I went and saw the movie "Click" with Adam Sandler. It was a good movie with funny scenes which is what I expected. I did not expect and still doubt that there will be any academy award winners or even nominations. But what I did not expect to find was a pretty decent message.

The premise of the movie is that he is purchasing a universal remote control so that he can figure out how to work all the electronic items in his house. The remote control that he gets is not only a universal remote control but it was able to control his universe. I know a little off the wall but still made for some funny scenes. Working with this remote he found that he could fast forward his life through fights, hard times and anything he chose.

First he opted to fast forward to the point where he was made a partner of the architectural firm he worked for. Thinking it would only be a few weeks it turned out that it moved his life more than a year forward. After skipping through that part of his life it became convenient to skip more and more the longer his life went on.

Later in the movie he found that he had fast forwarded through the end of his marriage, illnesses that he fought, his children growing up, the death of his father and finally he ended up at his son's wedding.

At this point he sought out the salesman that gave him this remote and questioned it. As he looked back through his life using the rewind feature of the remote he found where he had basically strolled through life on "Auto Pilot". What this meant was that he was working and going through the motions of life but never paid attention to the ones that he loved and often times he merely appeased them with an answer rather than giving him his full attention.

In the end he realized the importance of telling his wife, children, parents and anyone else in his life that he loved them and that it was important for him to spend as much quality time as possible with all of them. He realized that he had missed many opportunities and regretted the life he had chosen for himself. He missed important milestones in his children's life, the special moments with his wife as well as those memories you have by spending time with your parents.

In the movie he was given a second chance to go back and do it right. He was even tempted one last time and he chose to do the right thing based on the lessons he had learned. What I realize is that we do not have a second chance. Our chances disappear quickly. I am certain I have missed opportunities and hope that my family and friends realize it is not intentional. I am going to try and remember the lessons that Adam Sandler learned in this movie and always remember to let those close to me know that I care and that they are important to me.

That having been said: Mom, Dad, Grandma, Carolyn, Susan and family, Greg and family, all my aunts, uncles, cousins, friends...I love each of you. All of you mean a lot to me and it is great that we are all able to be so close. Thank you for always being there for me. I hope you will always feel that I am there for you.

4 comments:

Susan said...

Geez, Dan, I didn't think a review of Click would bring me to tears!!!!! I want to go see it. Great post and we love you, too!!

Greg and Christie said...

Only Dan the "movie critic" can make us see the things we take for granted. If a Universal remote will help us all see what is truly important in our lives, maybe we should all have one...

Anonymous said...

D...there you go again, bringing on the tears! I did enjoy the movie review and especially your message to all of us. Just know that you too are loved and missed at home. Too bad about the Explorer..just glad you were parked! Still must have been quite a shock!! Keep up the blogging...I'll buy more Kleenexes (spelling??)!
C

Lynn said...

Great post Dan;-) I love you too and you are a wonderful writer. Maybe you and Susan should do a book together! Sorry to hear about your vehicle.