Adam Sandler dials it up to 11 in 'Uncut Gems'
No Content for Old Men
with Matt Craig
In this week's newsletter: A review of Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems, plus a bonus recommendation for the overlooked Wild Rose. Then a bunch of Noah Baumbach streaming suggestions for your weekend. Lastly in this week's "Trailer Watch," I have to throw my support behind Florence Pugh, whose career is taking off like a rocket.
Word Count: 598 words
Approximate Reading Time: 4 minutes
Uncut Gems
Blood money can never be washed clean
The first time we see Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems, after a brief opening scene showing the discovery of a valuable diamond in a anarchic Ethiopian mine, he's sprawled out on a hospital bed getting a colonoscopy. Toto, we're not in Happy Gilmore anymore.
As promised, this is "serious" Sandler. And his performance is fantastic. Which is more than a little annoying, to be reminded that his legitimate acting chops are hiding not in the deep recesses of his rectum (I have a feeling he would appreciate the butt joke) but right underneath the surface, accessible at any time.
Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a jeweler in the diamond district of New York. Needless to say, this is the second most Jewish movie I've ever seen (A Serious Man will never and could never be topped), all the way down to an extended Passover meal sequence in Hebrew. Ratner is a hustler, fueled as much by the juice as the desire to outrun his debt collectors for the $100,000 he borrowed to purchase the aforementioned Ethiopian diamond.
The colonoscopy scene is also basically the only moment in the entire 135-minute run time that Sandler sits still. It might be helpful to think of the movie as a downhill ski run, with Ratner launching off the top at high speed and never really slowing down as he narrowly dodges obstacles along the way. He's walking, running and driving around NYC, simultaneously texting, taking photos and talking on the phone. It's chaos.
There is never a moment to catch your breath, for Ratner or the audience. You cannot be blamed for walking out of the theater exhausted by the go-go-go pacing. Or emotionally drained from second hand bettor's anxiety (one of Ratner's get rich quick schemes involves placing large amounts of other people's money on intricate and unlikely sports bets). If you're a Type A person, or a perfectionist like myself, some of Ratner's behavior is so stress-inducing it's borderline unhealthy.
The sheer amount of plot is staggering, as if every frame were designed to placate a child asking, "what happens next?" with increasingly raised stakes. Somehow it maintains tension and intensity throughout.
This is what happens when Sandler yields his dictatorial editorial control to the Safdie Brothers, the hot young filmmaking duo behind 2017's Good Time. That movie -- about a criminal on the run from the police -- shares the breakneck pace of Uncut Gems. In both cases our protagonist is a mixture of intelligence and incredibly bad decision-making, often unwilling to grasp multiple metaphorical life rafts thrown in their direction.
Ratner is almost certainly not a good guy, with sins varying from cheating on his wife to selling fake Rolexes to the house of cards he's built out of his lies. Not that the audience has time to weigh the scales of justice. Sandler inhabits Ratner with the same accessible vulnerability that made him a comedy icon. It's hard not to feel bad for his character, or the very least laugh at his absurdity, for which the movie provides ample opportunity. It's enough to keep you invested and on the edge of your seat until a shocking twist ending.
The very thing that makes this movie so effective is also what holds it back from being transcendent. The Safdies are proving to be among the best on the planet at creating a thrill ride, but they leave little to be discovered or chewed on beneath the surface.
Not that every movie has to have something to say.
Just ask Adam Sandler.
Streaming Suggestions!
Something New
Wild Rose (2019 $$$): I finally got around to seeing this movie from earlier in the year, about a young mother in Glasgow, Scotland, who dreams of being a country music star in Nashville. She goes to work as a housekeeper and gets into a less-than-transparent relationship with the woman at the house. The rich-vs-poor dynamic reminded me in many ways of Parasite, which is high praise. Jessie Buckley's performance both as a total mess mother and an unbelievable singer/performer really make the movie. If you're a fan of John Carney's movies (Once, Begin Again, Sing Street) you're going to love this one.
Marriage Story (Netflix): Streaming now on Netflix! A best picture frontrunner at the Oscars. Check out !
Something Old
Punch-Drunk Love (2002, Amazon Prime): The last real time Sandler did serious acting, he was doing it for the legendary Paul Thomas Anderson. And once again, proving he could be a great actor if he wanted to be. Then again, why would you want to do that when you could make craploads of money and use your "work" as a paid vacation, casting the most beautiful women in the world as your on-screen girlfriends and wives.
Big Daddy (1999): Peak Adam Sandler. Do not send me an email about why I'm wrong. I will hear no counter arguments.
Something to Stream
Good Time (Amazon Prime): I'd highly recommend watching this Safdie brothers thriller before you head out to see Uncut Gems...or after if you've already seen it. Would no doubt held contextualize exactly why every producer in Hollywood is so excited about these brothers' future. One of them (Benny) costars in the movie alongside Robert Pattinson, who will probably never shake the Twilight image in most people's minds but has turned in one of the most interesting and impressive past decades of any actor.
Trailer Watch: In the Heights
This is as excited as I've been for a movie trailer in quite a long time. If you know me at all you know my unparalleled love of "Hamilton." This movie is an adaptation of Lin Manuel Miranda's first musical, starring Anthony Ramos (who played Phillip, Hamilton's son, in the original Broadway cast). Add in Crazy Rich Asians director John Chu and this looks like the movie event of next summer. It cannot get here fast enough!