A movie that literally begins deep inside Adam Sandler's backside (during a colonoscopy), UNCUT GEMS has provided Sandler... as a jeweler in debt from reckless gambling... accolades for a different kind of performance...

And while not another goofy Happy Madison production, his "Screaming Guy" routine is nothing new... sans the soft-spoken baby talk before the inevitable Nirvana-like shift from clean to distorted loudness occurs...

For the most part, GEMS is a gritty New York City arthouse flick that never intentionally settles into one place comfortably; and a frantic, neurotic, fast-talking Sandler has its moments...

The problem is that the directors - throwing in too many characters and an annoying, intrusive score - keep trying to out-frantic their leading man, making it tough if impossible to know what's going on, or why.

Unlike the far superior, equally artistic PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE, the man simply gets lost in the shuffle.