This is how they win! While Adam Sandler’s career-best performance missed with the Academy and the movie received no Oscar nomination love whatsoever, A24’s “Uncut Gems” is still one of 2019’s most beloved films. Directed by the young Safdie brothers, quickly becoming the modern-day Scorsese’s of the New York street hustle and two of the most exciting filmmakers working today (we named “Uncut Gems” one of the best films of 2019).
In an interesting move given there isn’t an awards play here, but perhaps capitalizing on its social media phenomenon (the film has yielded many memes), and its existing box-office success (it’s already grossed $48.3 million domestically), A24 has announced that a new version of “Uncut Gems” is being re-released into theaters, featuring a guerrilla-style Q&A with Sandler. 18 minutes longer in length, the movie will be playing in theaters this weekend. The indie studio has also released a new trailer for this theatrical re-release which you can see below.
In case you don’t know much about the movie, “Uncut Gems,” stars Adam Sandler in the unlikely role—comedic, but also dramatic—of a Jewish New York jeweler addicted to gambling and all forms of high-stakes drama. In hock to some dangerous men, the jeweler and family man—who has a hot sidepiece in break out actress Julia Fox— scams his way into owning a opal blood diamond from Africa as a ploy to get himself out of debt. Soon, a bling-obsessed NBA player (real-life Kevin Garnett playing himself), becomes enamored with the opal which leads to a series of events that puts Sandler’s jeweler into dire circumstances. The entire experience is frantic, frenetic one that’s like a speedball of tragic-comedy. Or as our review from Telluride said, “Uncut Gems” is overflowing with “unrelenting, unbearable, nerve-rattling tension.”
Here’s the official synopsis:
From acclaimed filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie comes an electrifying crime thriller about Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler), a charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score. When he makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime, Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides, in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.
“Uncut Gems” also stars Lakeith Stanfield, Idina Menzel and Eric Bogosian. The new version of the movie lands back in theaters this weekend. Watch the re-release trailer below.