When I finished the Uncut Gems trailer and I hadn’t laughed once…I knew there was something incredible afoot. Obviously the Academy didn’t get the memo.
There are a couple things that I want to unpack here. First off, this was the most dynamic and interesting performance Adam Sandler EVER pulled off. This was completely out of his ballpark. Seeing the drastic change in his subject matter and having him pull off such an outstanding performance was amazing in itself. I think what bugs me the most about this is that there is not certain criteria to get nominated by the academy. Nothing makes a “best actor” nominee except for peoples opinion. It isn’t strictly based on certain things from each performance or actor, which obviously leaves room for personal bias and such.
Secondly, as stated, best actor or any other category isn’t strictly based on things or aspects of a film. If I were a part of the academy I would think growth and range of an actors abilities would be one of the most important factors to look for in a “best actor” nominee. If Sandlers performance in Uncut Gems isn’t the definition of range and growth then I really don’t know what is.
At the end of the day, anyone who saw Uncut Gems knows that Sandler was snubbed. Hardcore. He gave an Oscar worthy performance and got absolutely no recognition for it from the academy. So I fully support him making a movie that is absolutely terrible since nobody of stature gave him any sort of recognition for the best performance that he has ever given.
Featured Photo courtesy of IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5727208/
