The Cobbler

     The Cobbler, starring Adam Sandler.

     What can I say about The Cobbler?  It's an Adam Sandler movie.  If you don't immediately know what that means, you probably shouldn't watch it because you won't like it.  It isn't his usual, immature, Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore type movie, but it's closer to his old stuff than his new stuff.  Yes, there's crude humor; that's just his shtick.

     Max Simkin (Sandler) works as a cobbler in a run-down shop which has been in his family for generations.  Life has gotten Max down as the day-to-day of being a simple cobbler is taking its toll on him.  He's broke, has no social life, and no romantic possibilities on the horizon.  To make matters worse, his shop is in the lower east side of Manhattan and in danger of being shut down.  Simkin is struggling, along with the other shop owners in the area, just to stay in business.

     A thug comes into Simkin's shop demanding some shoes be done by 5 pm that night.  He reluctantly agrees, but his sewing machine breaks, and he has to pull the family heirloom out of the basement to finish the job.  The machine is magic, and when he puts on shoes repaired by this magical machine, he becomes the person who owns them.

     Simkin goes out to live the life he'd always wanted, in the usual Sandler comical way.  He does some funny stuff, inappropriate stuff, and even some kind-hearted stuff with the shoes.  Eventually, he comes back to his problem, and begins to put his life in order.

     Of course, there's a sappy moral hidden beneath the comedy, and the movie ends on a high note.  

     I'm actually a big Sandler fan (don't throw stones).  I have a brother who looks and acts just like him, so when I watch his movies it reminds me of my childhood.  This one was okay; not his best, but not his worst.

     I'd give it