Uncut Gems

This entry contains mild spoilers for the film Uncut Gems.

About

Uncut Gems is a 2019 crime thriller film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie and distributed by A24. The film stars Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner, a Jewish-American jeweler with a gambling addiction, as he recovers an uncut opal rock that'll help him pay off his debts to the loan sharks that pursue him. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing nearly $50 million at the box office.

History

The film premiered at Telluride Film Festival on August 30th, 2019, before being released commercially in the United States on December 25th, 2019. On January 20th, 2020, it was released internationally through Netflix. The official trailer for Uncut Gems was uploaded to A24's YouTube channel on September 24th, 2019, and has garnered over 8 million views as of February 2020 (shown below).

Reception

Uncut Gems released to widespread critical acclaim. It currently holds an aggregated review score of 92% via film site Rotten Tomatoes and holds an aggregated score of 90/100 on Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim."^[1][2] Many critics praised the Safdie Brothers' direction and Adam Sandler's performance. Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Report deemed Adam Sandler's performance as his best.^[3] Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film an "A" score, praising the visuals and the fast-paced, tense direction from the Safdie brothers.^[4] At the Independent Spirit Awards, Uncut Gems won 3 of its 5 nominations, including "Best Director" for the Safdie brothers, "Best Editing" and "Best Male Lead" for Adam Sandler.

Online Presence

On February 9th, 2020, Twitter user @fernandofromtx uploaded a video parodying Parasite's Best Picture Win at the Academy Awards as the climax of Uncut Gems. The video has garnered 28.7K favorites and 8.3K retweets as of February 19th, 2020 (shown below).^[5]

Another Twitter user, @writerdudejoe, uploaded a video on February 13th, 2020 involving an impression of the voice of Kermit of Frog reciting the "This Is How I Win" scene from the film. The video has garnered over 25.4K favorites and 5.8K retweets as of February 19th, 2020.^[6]

Multiple instances from the film, mainly the quotes, have been parodied online through image macros and memes. Popular quotes include "I disagree" and "Holy shit I'm gonna cum."

Related Memes

This Is How I Win

This Is How I Win is a memorable quote said by Adam Sandler's character, Howard Ratner. The phrase has garnered considerable use online as a reaction image or gif for one expressing victory through nefarious means.

External Links