The Cobbler (2014) - Adam Sandler's next film

I think it is safe to say that Sandler has been on a very bumpy run lately (honestly, he seems to be getting progressively worse), but his next feature could perhaps be an exception. Sandler's next film is directed and co-written by Thomas McCarthy who was behind The Station Agent, The Visitor and Win-Win - three excellent films.

Details on this project have been very quiet, but after doing some reading it is apparently about...

Solitude is a theme that McCarthy has tackled very well in his feature films and he seems to be going for it here again, albeit in a more 'escapist' and 'mystical' manner. Here is a still from the rather secretive project:


It also stars Dustin Hoffman, Dan Stevens and Steve Buscemi. Now I would usually not pay much attention to a production like this, but the only reason why this has piqued my interest is primarily because of Thomas McCarthy. He has only made three films in his short career so far and all have been met with positive reception:


He has also written all three of his films. Judging from some of the interviews I've seen from him, he really cares about his work, and doesn't seem like the type that would necessarily 'sell-out'.

This is what McCarthy had to say about Adam Sandler, which is vaguely reminiscent of what Paul Thomas Anderson said about him in preparation for Punch-Drunk Love:

Here is a photo of the filmmaker. He is also an actor:



So far no poster or teaser trailer has been released, but according to IMDb, it is coming out this year. I believe editing is nearly done. Perhaps I am being a bit too optimistic for this project, but I have always looked forward to what McCarthy is doing next. Sandler is a pretty great actor when he has the right script and director behind him, and considering McCarthy's track record with both writing and directing, this could prove to be one of those films.

Here are some more stills:










Excuse my ecstaticism, but McCarthy is one of my favourite directors working in America today and this seems quite promising. We'll see how the eventual trailers look like.

Great post Matteo, I will be honest I say I had never heard of McCarthy before reading this, and looking at those three films, they all look great so have promptly added to my watchlist. As a big fan of Punch-Drunk Love too, this project certainly looks very interesting

Y'know, I've always thought that Adam Sandler should really turn to dramatic acting, what with all of his best comedic performances behind him. I think this movie looks promising - I will definitely watch it.

__________________
It's like you're unraveling a big cable-knit sweater that someone keeps knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting...

I heard this film might be getting a release in December of this year. Still a while to go, but I'm assuming we'll get a trailer soon. Still quite excited for it, to be honest.

Punch-Drunk Love is all the evidence I need that this too can be a great film. It'll be all the more impressive if the script is good seeing as he co-wrote it.

Early reviews at the Toronto Film Festival have been mixed.

I loved Sandler when I was a kid, and I used to defend him, but his movies have reached a new level of awful in recent years. Sandler has proven that he can be an interesting actor when stepping outside of his comfort zone. Everyone talks about Punch Drunk Love, but I also really like his performances in Reign Over Me and Spanglish. This is my first time hearing about this upcoming feature, but it sounds interesting. I've seen McCarthy's The Visitor and Win-Win. Both are good movies with quiet, understated performances. I assume The Cobbler will be the same.

__________________

When he gets away from the garbage that Happy Madison produces, Sandler is a solid actor. This looks very promising. I had no idea about it until now, so thanks for the post!

__________________
"Oh, so you'd be General, huh? If you were General, I'd be Emperor, and you'd STILL get the sake! So shut up and get the sake!" -Hattori Hanzo

"#GAMEOVER420BLAZIT" -bluedeed

Sandler's also in Men, Women & Children, a new comedy drama from Jason Reitman, where his character also has a beard.


So, we can safely assume that it's all in the beard for Sandler. It makes him a better actor.

Well, I certainly did not expect the trailer to be like this:

For once I enjoyed the acting of Sandler ....



"He had no idea who I was. I could be anybody I want. This is great."

Frankly, I'm not such a big Adam Sandler fan. I think he isn't that funny. I can't really pinpoint what bothers me, but his nonchalance and apathy starts to get on my nerves after a while. I can't remember me smiling even once while watching "Blended" or "Click". It always seems like he's shaking funny dialogs out of his sleeves and occasionally swings a joke in between with such an air and expression on his face as if he suddenly comes to the realization that it's time to say something funny (even though his humor is mostly limited to farting). His films always have a final conclusion including a valuable life lesson. No, Sandler is not my favorite comedian. But here in "The Cobbler" he wasn't that bad. I even caught me smiling now and then. However, the end result is pretty weak and chaotic. But since Sandler tries a more serious part this time and I'm spared from "silly Sandler-humor", plus it all felt like a fairy-tale, it was better as expected.

The beginning of the film was, in my opinion, the most successful of the entire film. The run-up to the ultimate story. It had something of an old Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale with an old bum knocking at the door of the great-great grandfather of Max Simkin (Adam Šindler) and asking for shelter. Nobody wanted to take him inside and in gratitude the unknown left behind an antique sewing machine for repairing shoes. We are witnessing a sort of Jewish family conference discussing an important matter in old Yiddish and you'll see someone working with the old sewing machine while telling his son the whole story. Now Max owns the shoe shop which is run by the family Simkin for years now. It's located in a neighborhood that is doomed to disappear. However, it's obvious that Max isn't really happy with his boring life and he realizes that he'll lead this hopeless life until his retirement. Until a difficult client insists on repairing his shoes and Max is forced to use the old sewing machine (because his broke down). After repairing them he puts them on out of curiosity. To his surprise he takes the form of the owner of that pair of shoes, what gives rise to all sorts of chaotic situations.

It looks a bit like "Tuxedo" with Jackie Chan, except that now the shoes take care of the complete transformation. This fairy tale had so much potential and yet it became an ordinary "metamorphosis farce" which reminded me of some old theater play. Such a play with several doors where people appear and disappear at the right time. This mixed with the clumsy and chaotic way of acting as the late Jerry Lewis did and you have a good idea of what "The Cobbler" looks like. A well-known story in which various metamorphoses provide the final solution. Sometimes touching and funny, but mostly it's just a sad affair. And for once it isn't Sandler's fault.

It's not that Sandler tries to bring banal humor or that it occurs to be forced, but the whole story is confusing and misses its target completely. The fact that you're in someone else's shoes and you can take over a different personality, offers perspectives. But ultimately it's only used to pull some infantile and predictable pranks and subsequently dismantle an unscrupulous real estate plot. The only admirable thing Max did with his new powers, was taking over his father's personality (Abraham Simkin played by Dustin Hoffman) ,who disappeared years ago out of his life, to surprise his mother. Fortunately this demented woman is already of respectable age and probably doesn't have a lot of troublesome hormones anymore. Otherwise a Freudian complex situation could arise. And the denouement is too bizarre for words. What finally brings us to the next sore point. The creator of this story didn't know which way he wanted to go. Is it a comedy? A fairy tale? A sort of parody about superheroes? Or is it a story with a profound moral? The author was apparently disorientated. And so was I obviously.

As I said before, Sandler isn't the one to blame. For once I found him bearable and perfect for this role as the sad and washed out cobbler who, thanks to a magical machine, enjoys life again. The supporting cast Dustin Hoffman (a kind of Mr. Magorium), Steve Buscemi (always a pleasure to watch him play), Lynn Cohen and Method Man, weren't groundbreaking but gave it a professional touch. The renditions aren't the problem (or better "where the shoe pinches") but I'm sure that a marriage between comedy and drama will always be doomed to fail. As the proverb says : Let the cobbler stick to his last. (Keep that in mind Sandler !)