Adam Sandler stars as a jewellery store owner and gambling addict with his life on the line in Uncut Gems, a performance that has stunned the audience and critics alike.
The independent crime thriller Uncut Gems is the most recent project of rising filmmakers the Safdie Brothers (Good Time), and stars Adam Sandler in the lead role as Howard Ratner. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Adam Sandler’s performance is an impressive deviation from his previous comedic work. Dare I say it, it has proven that maybe, just maybe, the man can act.
In the film, Sandler plays a Jewish jewellery store owner and compulsive gambling addict who finds his life on the line when he struggles to pay off his debts. His course of action is to retrieve a rare and expensive gem, a plan that turns out to be more circuitous and complicated than expected.
The film has been praised and Sandler’s manic, thrilling performance has been deemed a “career best”. This finally feels safe to say, considering Sandler’s fair share of abominations and his not-so-great reputation in Hollywood.
Look, his career hasn’t exactly taken a normal route, but that might just be what makes the Sandman such an interesting dude.
Sandler’s Career: An Overview
The career turn that many comedic actors take by stepping outside of their comfort zone and into more serious roles isn’t something so uncommon. We’ve seen the likes of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell and Jonah Hill impress audiences with their dramatic talent, and Sandler is no exception to the mix.
After gaining exposure as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, Sandler’s early films Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore started his career as a comedy actor, and have since defined the essence of 90s comedy. It didn’t take long for Sandler to establish his signature on-screen persona, one that is characterised by his childish slacker personality, short temper, or violent and irrational outbursts. All of which never fail to evoke a laugh out of Sandman fans. And I’m not going to lie, his earlier films are pretty damn funny.
In the early 2000s, Punch-Drunk Love was a film that showcased the first sign of Sandler’s dramatic talent. His performance as a socially anxious young man who falls hopelessly in love earned Sandler a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. But Sandler didn’t keep this up for long, soon returning to his typical comedy films that everyone recognised him for.
The 2010s marked an all-time low career phase for Sandler, with the majority of his films including Grown Ups, Jack and Jill and Pixels being slammed. Some even as hard as being considered among the worst films ever made. Ouch.
Despite this, Sandler didn’t seem to mind, going on to put out further nonsense like The Ridiculous Six and Sandy Wexler. At this point it almost seemed as if Sandler himself had given up on his career, and was pumping out garbage for… fun, I guess?
But the impossible happened when Sandler took us all by surprise in Uncut Gems, and the “Adam Sandler” we all know completely disappeared. Sandler showed us something we hadn’t quite seen before, convincing audiences that he would at least receive an Oscar nomination for his efforts. Unfortunately, Sandler received no love from the Academy. An Oscar snub we’ll never forgive them for.
The performance didn’t go completely overlooked, as Sandler won Best Male Lead at the Independent Spirit Awards. Sandler even kept a good sense of humour about his snub, roasting the Academy in his acceptance speech:
“A few, you know, a few weeks back, when I was quote-unquote ‘snubbed’ by the Academy, it reminded me of when I briefly attended high school and was overlooked for the coveted yearbook superlative category Best Looking.”
That’s about as Adam Sandler as you can get.
What’s The Go For Sandman?
Netflix has revealed that we’ve streamed 2 billion hours worth of Adam Sandler movies. Here’s what the chief content officer Ted Sarandos had to say about him:
“Whether you know him as Sandman, the Water Boy, Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Nick Spitz or simply Adam, one thing is clear: our members can’t get enough of him.”
So, Netflix has partnered with Adam Sandler for another four films for the coming years. He won’t be going anywhere. We obviously can’t predict the quality of the upcoming films, but hopefully this marks a turning point for Sandler being taken a little more seriously.
And hey, if they so much as suck, at least now we know the man is capable of doing great work… when he wants to.
Uncut Gems is available now on Netflix.
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