Adam Sandler recently joked that if he didn’t get nominated for an Academy Award for his acclaimed performance in Uncut Gems, he was going to make a bad movie on purpose. Well, Adam Sandler didn’t get nominated and the Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems was completely snubbed by the Academy. So we’ll have to wait and see if Sandler delivers on his threat of a terrible movie, but in the meantime, there’s something else you can see him in.
Adam Sandler and the Safdies already reunited for a short film titled Goldman v Silverman, and you can watch it right now, below:
Goldman v Silverman chronicles the conflict between two street performers vying for the attention and money of the tourists flooding into New York City’s Times Square. Adam Sandler plays Goldman and co-director Benny Safdie dons the silver paint as Silverman, his nemesis. Although Times Square is big, for two metallic colored robot performers, there’s only room for one of them.
Adam Sandler’s Goldman is doing his best, but he's clearly struggling with his performance, lacking the balance to really blow away his audience. Benny Safdie’s Silverman not only shows no respect for his fellow performer, he actually proves to be antagonistic. Silverman makes fun of Goldman, ridiculing him in front of the surrounding crowd and then attempting to do basically the same act right nearby.
The two try to settle their conflict without breaking character or interrupting their act, but eventually it devolves into a more heated confrontation. Despite what could be a silly short film if taken in another direction, Goldman v Silverman is actually pretty dark. Of course, coming from the directors of Good Time and Uncut Gems, a dark look at these characters should come as no surprise.
What’s fun about Goldman v Silverman is it’s taking place in Times Square, so Adam Sandler and Benny Safdie are surrounded by the real tourists populating the commercial intersection. Street performers and people wielding cameras are commonplace, so no one would have known that this was for a short film or that the dude in the gold paint was actually incredibly famous actor Adam Sandler.
Some people were obviously entertained by Goldman, but then you can see the real curiosity turn into concern when it becomes clear the conflict between the two street performers is not part of the performance. That gets the Safdies some real reactions from the tourists as people turn to look at what’s going on.
While the tones are wildly different, I must say that when watching Goldman v Silverman on Vimeo, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the robot/mime battle from Eurotrip. You can check that out below.
Considering that Adam Sandler had to be talked into taking the more serious role in Uncut Gems, it’s cool to see that he reunited with the Safdie Brothers so quickly, even if it was only for a short film. He must have had a good experience on Uncut Gems, and hopefully that portends future collaborations and more serious roles, in addition to the silly fun stuff he does on Netflix.
Uncut Gems is now playing. Check out all of the biggest movies headed to theaters this year in our 2020 Release Schedule.
