Here's a summary of the plot: Michael Newman is an architect who feels he needs to impress his boss in order to get a better position at work. More and more, he's occupied with work obligations rather than spending time with his family. Frustrated with the number of remote controls in his house, he goes out to buy a universal remote control in order to simplify his life, and he eventually gets one for free from Morty in the "way beyond" section of Bed, Bath, and Beyond. He soon discovers that along with controlling his television, this universal remote can control the world around him, and before long, he's fast forwarding through traffic and arguments with his wife and skipping forward until his illnesses have cleared up or he's received a promotion at work. Learning from his behavior, the programming on the remote begins to take over, and Newman finds that he's skipping too much. His children grow up so quickly that he doesn't recognize them; his wife divorces him; and he learns of his father's death years after it happens. After sustaining what is apparently a heart attack at his son's wedding, he finds himself on his death bed but manages to summon enough strength to run outside and tell his son that family comes first. He dies but wakes up to find that he's still in Bed, Bath, and Beyond and that the whole adventure with the remote was a dream.
After he finds out that his father has died, Newman visits his gravestone. Morty shows up (as he's done a few other times when Newman has questions about the remote and what it can do), tells him, "I'm sorry about your father. Taking him wasn't something I wanted to do," and reveals that he's the angel of death. Morty's name is an indication of his position; it's a nod to mors (genitive mortis), the Latin word for death. Furthermore, in the same way that the diminutive name "Morty" is only a fraction of the true mortis, Newman's own death is merely part of his dream, not a genuine death.
As the remote gains a stronger hold on Newman's life, the color palette of the film gradually moves away from warm colors and towards cool colors (particularly gray, white, and blue), especially once he becomes CEO of the architectural firm. This shift in color symbolizes two things: first, that as he skips over events, Newman's life becomes progressively less enjoyable and less vivid. Second, since the cooler color scheme matches the appearance of the remote itself (which is blue and silver), this shift illustrates the device's growing dominance over Newman's life.
