A charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score, 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.
When a crooked jewelry dealer named Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) finds out there is a rare gem discovered by cave miners in Ethiopia worth $1,000 per carat, he does whatever it takes to get his hands on it. Howard’s messy life consists of constantly dodging those he owes money to, trying to maintain his double life with his young mistress Julia (Julia Fox) and figuring out his next scam. Demany (LaKeith Stanfield), his liaison to famous clients, introduces him to NBA player Kevin Garnett, whom he tells about the gem in order to manipulate him into purchasing it.
As Howard’s scams begin to catch up with him, he auctions off the gem, then sells it to Kevin for $175,000 and uses the money to bet on the next basketball game. When he ultimately wins, he intends to use the winnings to pay back everyone he owes but the men finally close in on him before he gets a chance. This film began with a serious scene in Ethiopia where miners where nearly dead as they extract the gems from the mines. Then it switches gears and turns into a loud, messy movie with unexpected cameos from singer The Weeknd and “Good Times” TV star John Amos, which totally confused me.
The pace of this movie is fast, nervous, and neurotic from beginning to end. Dangerous men are looking for Howard in vertically every scene, the music is loud, there is excessive cursing and the N-word is thrown around more than I can bear. I swear I felt like I was going to have an attack of some sort at any given moment. Don’t expect much with this one, I was rooting for it but it failed pretty early on. At least the ending is shocking!
In theaters in NY and LA Friday, December 13th
