Oh my Galoshes, there's a lot to say about this movie. I'll try to polish over both good & bad, so at times I might sound like I'm Flip Flop-ing. But rest assured my overall experience was positive, and I came out of the theater feeling pretty Pumped.
"The Cobbler" is an entertaining flick that's good wholesome fun for you, your family and your Keds. My one & only criticism is I don't think it fully explored the moral lessons it could've presented, nor did it delve too deep into the characters. Instead, it deliberately took the route of being a plot driven story, and so it ended up being more of a comedy crime caper than an intimate moral tale. I guess you could say this shoe flick strikes a New Balance between action and heart.
First let's talk briefly about the plot. Adam Sandal-er plays the cobbler Max, a 40-something loser whose life has very little meaning. One day he stumbles on the power to transform himself into any person whose shoes he wears. The story is a clever & original take on the moral lesson: "Don't judge anyone until you've walked a mile in their shoes" (because then you can talk smack about them, and you're a mile away and you've got their shoes). Or something like that.
The entire production is very well done, and all acting performances were excellent. With a supporting cast of legendary talents like Dustin Hoffman, Steve Buscemi & Ellen Barkin, you'd think "The Cobbler" would be a Shoe-in for movie of the year. But I can't help but think it missed a great opportunity to explore the aforementioned moral. You'd think this would be a great way to delve into social prejudices as Max learns what it's like to experience the lives of people of different races, genders and social status. But the film doesn't touch upon that at all, instead remaining rooted in the story of a man who uses his special power to take on the bad guys. That sort of Suede my opinion against the film.
Comedy is sparse & low key but effective. If you're an Adam Sandler fan, you probably know that he doesn't always play the wisecracking comedian, but his serious roles are every bit as good if not better ("Punch-Drunk Love", "Funny People", etc). It's definitely interesting to see him take on the role of Max. He has a way of giving the character a personal touch so you can really Fila lot of emotion. The character is a man of few words, but we can still learn a lot about him through his fleeting interactions and Converse-ations.
So there you have it: a mixed review but overall positive; I wanted to give you an idea what to expect if you watch "The Cobbler". Hopefully Adidas all a favor. This is a nice, breezy movie that'll entertain you for 99 mins, and it has a nice surprise twist that might make you want to hur-Reebok to the theater and watch it a 2nd time.
And as I'm completely out of cheesy shoe puns, I think I'll end this review. See ya Laces!
