{"id":10942,"date":"2019-11-21T14:32:15","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T22:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/?p=10942"},"modified":"2019-11-22T15:48:52","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T23:48:52","slug":"uncut-gems-review-three-reasons-to-see-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/uncut-gems-review\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Uncut Gems&#8217; Review &#8211; Three Reasons To See It"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Benny and\u00a0Josh Safdie, two East Coast filmmaking siblings, could promote themselves as New York City tour guides given their scenic cinema stylings. For how much\u00a0<i>Good Time<\/i>\u00a0relies on Robert Pattinson\u2019s stoner sprint through borough underworlds,\u00a0<i>Uncut Gems<\/i>\u00a0is a jagged tumble into Manhattan\u2019s jewelry district. A film that\u2019s perpetual pandemonium in the thickest \u201cJewish but Staten Island\u201d accent, the Safdie brothers prove once again adept at achieving\u00a0tension and anxiety you\u2019d feel waiting at the dentist\u2019s office for two hours before oral surgery &#8211; and I mean that as a compliment. Starring Adam Sandler as a no-luck, conniving diamond hawker, no less?<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vTfJp2Ts9X8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) is always targeting the deal of his hard-knocks life. Be it sports betting or importing rare opal gemstones from \u201cEthiopian Jews,\u201d Howard is a man who has everything based on perception, yet reality proves different. He owes Arno (Eric\u00a0Bogosian) a debt that brings thuggish loan sharks to his shop\u2019s doorstep, wife Dinah (Idina\u00a0Menzel) can\u2019t stand his unfaithful, secretary-humping existence (Julia Fox his mistress), and\u00a0Kevin Garnett \u2013 yes, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kevin_Garnett\">that Kevin Garnett<\/a> \u2013 just hijacked his precious opal before it\u2019s to be auctioned for a supposed million dollars. Howard is the quintessential unlucky guy who can\u2019t seem to understand the common denominator in all his problems: himself.<\/p>\n<p>A24 will release\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.atomtickets.com\/movies\/uncut-gems\/279253\"><i>Uncut Gems<\/i><\/a>\u00a0on December 25th, 2019, just in time for&#8230;Christmas? Those of you not celebrating around tinsel-draped evergreens, here are three reasons to spend your holidays watching the Safdie brothers abuse the piss out of Adam Sandler.<\/p>\n<h2>1. The Sandman Cometh<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019ve been waiting patiently for Adam Sandler to break from contracted Netflix comedies for a hot second,\u00a0<i>Uncut Gems<\/i>\u00a0has a <em>Punch Drunk Love<\/em>-levels great Sandler cursing his way through self-inflicted punishment. No slapstick, just literal slaps from\u00a0wiseguy\u00a0goons who leave \u201cHowie\u201d with another black eye. Sandler operates as an architect of his own undoing, which is a tremendous look on the downtrodden, defeated dreamer who consistently tempts fate. Howard <em>always<\/em> hustles, chasing scores that beat systems (bookies, industry standards), yet only digs himself deeper as any escape from his proverbial hole moves farther and farther from the surface. Frustration and hope are Howie\u2019s tangled language, as Sandler so desperately keeps us wincing through performative masochism via professional aspirations.<\/p>\n<p>The Safdie brothers never intend to make you feel empathy towards Howard, or at least in my reading of\u00a0<i>Uncut Gems<\/i>. Sandler\u2019s at his best when obsessed with an opal cluster that contains prismatic universes when glared through, even when his business partner \u2013 just beaten by thugs \u2013 is demanding his attention. One lewd comment later, breaking his stone-fixated hypnosis, and Howard asserts himself as the forever shyster. I equally adore Julia Fox as Howard\u2019s pampered arm candy and\u00a0Idina\u00a0Menzel as his no-bullshit almost-ex, but their performances highlight Sandler\u2019s greater chemistry. Howard never comprehends how he\u2019s pushing everyone away, and karma doesn\u2019t turn a blind eye forever. Sandler plays the victim so well, to the point where you almost forget he\u2019s his own worst enemy. Almost.<\/p>\n<h2>2. The New York State Of Mania<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_10945\" style=\"width: 938px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10945\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10945\" src=\"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/uncut_gems.jpg\" alt=\"Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner in 'Uncut Gems' (Courtesy: A24)\" width=\"928\" height=\"523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/uncut_gems.jpg 928w, https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/uncut_gems-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/uncut_gems-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/uncut_gems-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 928px) 100vw, 928px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10945\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner in &#8216;Uncut Gems&#8217; (Courtesy: A24)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>As a former New York City resident of over six years,\u00a0<i>Uncut Gems\u00a0<\/i>is a chaotic slice of greasy nostalgia. You can practically smell the aroma of roasted nuts wafting from vendors as Howard scampers another city block, always scheming his next grift. The Safdies key into the Big Apple\u2019s constant state of disarray and status-chasing in a way that translates into Howard\u2019s exhausting approach to life. Cinematography never takes a break, full of tight and shaky handheld shots, nor do the characters who become entangled in Howard\u2019s sticky business. It\u2019s distressing, blow after blow dealt unto Howard\u2019s life, in a way that\u2019ll make the most nervous viewers chew their nails to each cuticle.<\/p>\n<p><i>Uncut Gems<\/i>\u00a0is a film that hammers momentum into tension and opportunity into despair. In a city that can eat you alive, Howard screams \u201cWhy not me!\u201d at the top of his lungs while dumping another $20K on Celtics money lines. An urban jungle where dreamers climb, studded with glistening bedazzlement like the Furby necklaces Howard tries to push on celebrity clientele even though his gaudy style\u2019s gone out of fashion. All the intricacies of streetwalking schmucks to loudmouth, self-important pricks ruling 47th Street between 5th and 6th Ave gives the Safdie brothers an advantage as they don\u2019t need to embellish &#8211; a natural ecosystem that glistens and stinks of raw sewage.<\/p>\n<h2>3. A Cast Of Memorable Characters<\/h2>\n<p>Name one movie where you can watch Adam Sandler attend a private The Weekend concert right before\u00a0LaKeith\u00a0Stanfield is about to make a\u00a0got\u2019dang\u00a0scene? Or where\u00a0Kevin Garnett, playing himself, becomes spiritually bonded to Sandler\u2019s precious treasure and hightails it with Sandler furiously in pursuit?\u00a0Idina\u00a0Menzel\u2019s stony and merciless disregard for Sandler\u2019s soon-to-be-divorced schmoozer is so fiercely entertaining in the same way Julia Fox\u2019s \u201cLet momma take care of daddy!\u201d eyelash-fluttering scores the actress a memorable breakout role. I\u2019ll be honest, Garnett deserves credit\u00a0for stepping onto Hollywood hardwood like \u201cI see you in\u00a0<i>Trainwreck\u00a0<\/i>LeBron, but you\u00a0ain\u2019t\u00a0the only NBA star who can act these days.\u201d He is the film\u2019s\u00a0undersung\u00a0MVP as, yes, his ballplaying is integral to the Safdies\u2019 plot.<\/p>\n<p>No,\u00a0<i>Uncut Gems<\/i>\u00a0is not a feel-good movie. It\u2019s a commentary on inward self-pitying despite outwardly sealing one\u2019s fate. Play in trash all day and you\u2019re going to smell like it, but then to complain about said stench? Everyone\u2019s looking for their claim to fame, that golden ticket worth overnight millions, yet the Safdie brothers don\u2019t shy away from a character study about those who\u2019re willing to sacrifice everything for instant relief while convinced they won&#8217;t lose a cent. You will squirm, you will hurt, and you\u2019ll respect the hell out of Adam Sandler\u2019s ability to bring the worst out of his surrounding actors in the best possible way. It\u2019s not a Safdie brothers movie unless you\u2019re grasping for a brown paper bag while feeling more uncomfortable than when Aunt Barb questions your non-existent relationship prospects around the Thanksgiving dinner table.<\/p>\n<p><em>Uncut Gems<\/em> hits theaters on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Benny and\u00a0Josh Safdie, two East Coast filmmaking siblings, could promote themselves as New York City tour guides given their scenic cinema stylings. For how much\u00a0Good Time\u00a0relies on Robert Pattinson\u2019s stoner sprint through borough underworlds,\u00a0Uncut Gems\u00a0is a jagged tumble into Manhattan\u2019s jewelry district. A film that\u2019s perpetual pandemonium in the thickest \u201cJewish but Staten Island\u201d accent, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":10943,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[40,37],"class_list":["post-10942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-featuredpage","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10946,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10942\/revisions\/10946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}