Uncut Gems has been highly-praised by many, and even though I had a sneaking suspicion I wouldn't enjoy the film, I gave it a chance since it's streaming on Netflix. First and foremost, this movie was headache-inducing. There are so many scenes where people are all yelling at once, and talking over each other, it drove me crazy. I was struggling to follow anything that was going on, or who any of the characters were because they wouldn't shut up for even 2 seconds so I could make out a single line of dialogue. Almost every scene in the jewelry store was like this, and I'd frequently take a break from the film after one of these scenes just to decompress from the overstimulation of that chaos. Once they took a little time and started establishing an actual plot, I was at least glad that there was something I could follow. That's not to say I enjoyed the plot, though, because this isn't the kind of story that does much for me. Also, it wasn't just the chaotic dialogue that made the plot confusing, but the series of deals that the main character gets involved in started to overlap so much that it became impossible to track how much money he owed and to how many different people.

Therein lies the biggest problem I have with Uncut Gems. The entire plot structure is built around a guy who is entirely unlikeable (and fairly stupid) that constantly makes horrible decisions and digs himself into a deeper and deeper hole. The fact that he is so unpleasant sucks all tension and excitement from the film. It's obvious that the filmmakers want the audience to feel some type of stress as things come to a head in Uncut Gems, but I couldn't muster even an ounce of emotion since this is a guy who deserves to be beaten up or even killed. He cares about no one but himself, and hurts everyone around him. I've heard many say that Adam Sandler deserved some awards recognition for his performance in Uncut Gems, but I was struggling not to laugh as I kept hearing his other characters leak out in this performance. Sometimes he had a bit of Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore, and at one point I swear I heard The Waterboy and Opera Man coming out. There were many times that I was laughing during Uncut Gems, and I don't think they were intended to be comedic moments, particularly at the end. That conclusion was so fitting that I had a hearty laugh, and I almost turned a corner and thought it was a halfway decent film. Then I remembered all the things I hated before that and I don't think the end won me over enough. I can at least get a sense what others like about the movie, though.