Uncut Gems (2019)

I previously expressed a minor interest in this picture, but I kept putting it off because it looked dark. I'd also learned that it had the fourth most instances of the F-word, right behind The Wolf of Wall Street, which is no plus in my book. Still, its popularity cannot be denied, and when I saw that it would stop streaming on Netflix May 8 (sorry if you're reading too late for easy access), I tarried no longer.

In 2012, New York jeweler Howard (Adam Sandler) imports a large black opal from Ethiopia. He hopes to auction it off and pay his multiple debts to impatient lenders, not least Arno (Eric Bogosian), his soon-to-be-ex-brother-in-law. But superstitious NBA star Kevin Garnett (himself) borrows it for luck, and getting it back in time for the auction isn't easy....

So much for my notion that Sandler would never get an esteemed acting award; he got several, and many people wished he were nominated for an Oscar, tough as it would be to defeat Joaquin Phoenix. Nevertheless, I wonder whether Sandler can't or won't play a character who isn't annoying. I wouldn't call Howard a manchild, but he cheats on the mother of his children (Idina Menzel) with his employee (Julia Fox), he never stops gambling on sports, his acquisition of the opal is morally suspect at best, and he lies a lot. It limits how much I can feel sorry for him when most of his troubles result from his own actions.

The dialogue is evidently trying for realism via repetition, rapidity, and profuse uncreative swearing. There are also a few anti-Semitic slurs, so it may feel a little more sensitive nowadays. One scene takes place at a seder, tho it doesn't coordinate with the basketball game schedule for that year (one of the most notable goofs).

As a fairly credible drama, UG is OK. As a thriller, it doesn't offer much. Not only do I barely sympathize with Howard, but the debt-collecting thugs are only so harsh before the final act. Besides, I rarely got the sense that the story could possibly end well, and not just because it's an A24 film. (Thanks a lot for that gratuitous "opening," BTW.)

I won't be surprised if this is the last chance I ever take on Sandler. I simply haven't found his live-action features better than middling, and Hotel Transylvania 4 reputedly didn't live up to its predecessors.