Day: August 27, 2006

My expectations were pretty low last night when Kyle and I headed to the Strand Theatre to see Adam Sandler’s latest, “Click.” Overall, the film garnered a cumulative “C” from reviewers, but some critics were downright brutal including Peter Travers of Rolling Stone who panned, “Sandler has a sappy side that makes me puke. I damn near choked on Click.” Whatever. It was Saturday night on vacation with my son, so off we went…

“Click” starts out with the usual Sandler staples of farts and shots in the pills that absolutely delighted Kyle, but then took a Capra-esque (some critics would say ripoff) turn toward a more meaningful story of what’s really important during the short time we’re here. In my opinion, it’s a worthy modern retelling of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” with Christopher Walken’s Morty a hip update to Henry Travers’ Clarence and Kate Beckinsale a very hot update to Donna Reed’s Mary.

It’s worth noting Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” was panned by some and didn’t rock the box-office when it was in theatres in 1946. In fact, it ranked 26th in revenue that year and fell about $400K short of recouping it’s $3.7M budget. I think it’s made a few bucks since. “Click” has enjoyed a better financial performance out of the gate, taking in about $135M against a budget of around $70M. Without the Christmas theme, it’s doubtful “Click” will have the legs of “Life.” Still, it’s worth seeing.

“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

Two years ago I ditched Verizon landline phone service in favor of VOIP from Vonage. Still, I was paying for a home phone for which usage was showing a dwindling trend. This month, after a very difficult breakup process, Vonage is now on the scrap heap of my ex-phone providers. It wasn’t easy. I mean the decision was. We were down to less than 100 minutes a month, so I couldn’t really justify the 28 cents a minute. Sadly, Vonage didn’t take it well. There were tears and they asked me if I was seeing another provider. I said no, “it’s just business,” and I really didn’t see it working out for us over the long term.

According to a May-06 poll conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (don’t ask me why), 7.8 percent of surveyed adults live in households with only a cell phone, and that the no phone home population is growing by 2 percentage points per year. Someday, we all may be connected by wi-fi phones or something like that. Until then, call me on my cell.

So, what’s your deal on the home phone?