Adam Sandler Wants an Oscar...

...badly.   And this is no more evidence than his crazy, histrionic work in a frenetic movie called "Uncut Gems."  If you're one of the three fans of Sandler's work in the past, you will applaud his courage at stretching his dramatic chops to the extremes it is evidenced in this film.   For the rest of society, "Uncut Gems" will make you despise the "Hanukkah" kid even more.

The good news?   The Academy didn't buy into it all and the  Best Actor Oscar nomination did not happen, so all the straining and screaming and cursing he peppers his "Uncut Gems" performance with went for naught. Nobody's bought in and that's probably good.   While I watched with interest the entire film, I can't say that I liked it.   No single movie should be as exhausting as this one.

The film is set in the spring of 2012 and that's important because the movie dovetails between fact and fiction as the NBA Playoffs are in progress and the Celtics' Kevin Garnett figures prominently in the movie as he plays himself.  Sandler plays a sleazeball named Howard Ratner who runs a jewelry store in the Diamond District of Manhattan.   But that's only one part of what occupies his time.   He cheats on his wife.   He is a high stakes gambler.  (His bookie is played by WFAN's Mike Francesa???!!!!)  He cheats his friends.   He owes money to loan sharks all over the city.  Not exactly somebody you want to have in your life.

But he's headed for a huge payoff.   You see, Howard is in possession of a jeweled rock from an Ethiopian mine.  He's guessing it would be worth a million bucks on an open auction.   And the aforementioned Kevin Garnett thinks it's his lucky charm in the playoffs so he wants it.  In the meantime, Howard has to juggle all the people in his life that need payment from him for whatever.  Mostly everybody in the movie is detestable so "Uncut Gems" essentially becomes "Goodfellas on 47th Street."

Besides the lengthy appearance of Garnett as himself, there is a super bizarre cameo at one point.  Howard is looking for his son to use the bathroom of a neighbor in the high rise where he stashes his mistress.   They knock on one door and Howard tells the kid that this neighbor is the guy who played the dad on "Good Times."   The door opens and it really is John Amos.

It was those kinds of quirks that kept me engrossed in "Uncut Gems."  But, overall, I didn't care about any of the characters.  It was two plus hours spent with some of the most annoying people you would ever want to meet.   And I certainly wasn't giving Adam Sandler my Oscar vote any time soon.

Wait.   I don't have an Oscar vote.  So we had to rely on the rest of the Academy to deny him the honor.

Which they did.

LEN'S RATING:  Two-and-a-half stars.

Dinner last night:  Pepperoni pizza left over from lunch.