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The Cobbler

Why would director Thomas McCarthy sink to this level?

Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, goes the old adage. Adam Sandler is a lowly cobbler who discovers a magic leather-stitching machine—one that allows him to transform into the spitting images of the owners of shoes mended by the device. Funny, no? No.

His experiments with this magic get progressively more maudlin, insulting, and creepy, as this ghastly movie callously caricatures every racial and ethnic stereotype possible. Cringe-inducing twist ending. The Big Mystery is why respected director Thomas McCarthy, who has given us The Station Agent, The Visitor, and Win Win, would sink to this level. Why, Tom? Japanese title: Kutsu Shokunin to Mahō no Mishin. (99 min)