Contrary to its mammoth advertising campaign, Adam Sandler is not the star of “Click.”

Neither is the ravishing Kate Beckinsale, or dotty Christopher Walken, who by now seems delighted to play caricatures of himself.

No, the outstanding performance in this family fable comes from Rick Baker. You won’t see his face onscreen, but as Hollywood’s special effects makeup king, he is able to take Sandler and his compatriots through a lifetime-spanning story and make what could have been a silly, maudlin piece of fluff marvelously believable and poignant.

But wait, I’m skipping too far ahead. Let me rewind.

Sandler plays an overworked architect who’s so busy trying to please his boss, devilishly smarmy David Hasselhoff, that he can’t find time to be with his wife and kids, whom he dearly loves. The pressure becomes too much when he can’t even figure out which of his numerous remote controls turns on the television, and he finds Walken in a back hallway of Bed, Bath & Beyond (in the department marked “Way Beyond”).

Walken gives him a high tech universal remote, so new it doesn’t have a package or a price yet, he says. It takes Sandler about 15 minutes of running time to figure out that the remote can control events in his life, like turning down the volume on his barking dog or fast-forwarding through rush-hour traffic.

The movie skates along for another quarter of an hour while we watch Sandler having fun with his newfound power. But as in all “be careful what you wish for” stories, he starts to realize there’s a down side to skipping scenes, or chapters – or months or years.

Baker’s makeup doesn’t always hit the mark. In a flashback to Sandler’s youth, his parents (played by Henry Winkler and Julie Kavner, in a flawless bit of parent-child casting) need to look younger but their faces appear plastic and rubbery. And a fat suit for a middle-aged Sandler is equally fake-looking.

But when the youngish actors need to appear decades older, the effect is unbelievably good, and the performers pull off mature versions of themselves without resorting to cliches.

Sandler produced “Click,” and brings along a good deal of the absurdity that defines an Adam Sandler movie. Look for appearances by “50 First Dates” alumni Rob Schneider and Sean Astin, plus offbeat roles by Jennifer Coolidge and Nick Swardson. The PG-13 rating is deserved, with references to body parts and far too many scenes of dogs having their way with a stuffed animal. The script doesn’t always treat children kindly, but that’s almost a trademark of Sandler’s brand of humor, and he’s charming enough that audiences know he’s just kidding.

Writers Steve Koren and Mark O’Keefe (who penned the similarly themed “Bruce Almighty” for Jim Carrey) get bogged down with unnecessary branches of the story sometimes, like explaining Walken’s character or revisiting Sandler’s first loves. And some viewers will undoubtedly see right through the melodrama that permeates the second half of the film.

But for those who can release their hold on the suburban reality of the movie’s setting and enjoy a little goofy, sappy, Sandlerism, “Click” is a treat. You’ll leave the theater wanting to rush home and hug the kids you left with the babysitter.