Ty Watches "Uncut Gems"

Hello all. I am back from my week off, and I do have some very solid ideas for pieces I will be writing this week, and today I want to start off with something I have wanted to write since my birthday. I couldn't write it then because the movie wasn't released in Saint Louis yet. But, the movie came out here on Xmas eve, and I finally went to see "Uncut Gems" yesterday.

I tried to wait to write all of my "Best Of" because I wanted to see this movie because I assumed it would be on my list. Had I waited a bit longer, it would have been either number 1 or 2. I loved every single second of this movie. I read some audience reviews the day before seeing it because I was interested, and the people who gave it bad reviews were upset by the "vulgarity", "people talking over one another" and how "violent" the movie was. I guess the people who saw this movie expected a typical Adam Sandler movie. Well, it is nothing like a typical Sandler movie.

First off, this is an A24 movie. This movie was not from Happy Madison, so he had no producing credit, and pretty much no say as to how the movie was made. Also, the movie is rated R, they state that it is due to violence, language and sexual situations. So, seeing that, the people that may not have expected that, or liked it, should have known better. Finally, the "talking over everyone", a big part of the movie takes place in a busy jewelry shop in downtown NYC. The talking loudly over one another is exactly what I think it is in downtown NYC.

So, I am glad that I pushed those reviews out of mind, and went anyway. "Uncut Gems" was also, probably, my most anticipated movie of the year. I am a big time Adam Sandler fan, and when he does stuff like this, dramatic and sinister stuff, I am all in for it. I like it when actors try something out of their comfort zones, and Sandler absolutely crushes in this movie. He is exactly what I think a degenerate, cheating, scummy and down on his luck compulsive gambler is really like. He has zero redeeming qualities, and I think that is the point. I don't feel like we are supposed to root for him, or anyone for that matter, in this movie. There is no hero, no bad guys, just scummy people. And Sandler was king of them all. He was so good in this movie. I cannot overstate that enough. I hope he gets awards recognition, because he 100 percent deserves it. He should get all the accolades. I would love to see him get an Oscar nomination of this role. He is that good.

And he wasn't the only person that was great. Everyone did a splendid job. Kevin Garnett, in his acting debut, was incredible. He is such a charismatic dude, and that comes across tenfold. Julia Fox, who is relatively new, at least to me, was great. She is Sandler's girlfriend, on the side, and she is just as slimy as him. Lakeith Stanfield is quickly turning into one of my favorite actors. His scenes with Sandler in this movie are perfection. Also, his orange hooded sweatshirt at The Weekend's show, that is a beautifully shot scene. Idina Menzel, Sandler's wife in the movie, is so good as the woman who is fed up with her husband. The scene where she tells him off at his folks house during Passover is amazing. Judd Hirsch is solid in his minor role. The Weekend is one hell of a singer. The guys that play Sandler's brother's bodyguards are perfectly cast as the type of dudes that would do that job for a living. The kids in the movie were good. The acting was great across the board.

I also really dug the way the Safdie Brothers directed the movie, and had the movie scored. The while thing is frantic and fast paced and doesn't let you take a breath. I feel like they want you to be pushed to the brink with this movie, and they nail it. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and that ending, no spoilers, took me by complete surprise. All the stuff leading up to that, it was perfectly directed. I heard some say the score was odd, I disagree. I truly enjoyed it, and felt it added another cool feel to the movie. It was different and pushed my anxiety to the brink just like the scenes in the movie did.

I was predisposed to enjoy this movie. I really like what the Safdie Brothers do, "Good Time" is great, I am a big time Sandler fan, I like movies like this and was highly anticipating it. It met my expectations and then some. I took my dad to the movie with me, and was curious how he felt. He said it started a little slow for him, but once it picked up, he was fully on board. That is high praise coming from my father. So, the fact that "Uncut Gems" won him over as well, that is another feather in its cap. I think this movie will find a huge audience when it hits streaming, but I will say, I went to a 9:40 am showing on a Sunday morning, and the theater was about 60 percent full. That also made me happy.

Go see "Uncut Gems", in the theaters if you can. This is a very good movie, it proves that the Safdie's are legit filmmakers and that Adam Sandler is more than just a Netflix, goofy movie making actor. Given solid direction, and the right material, he can be a very, very good actor. He was awesome.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 2-Baby It's Cold Outside

ed note: This article was originally published on December 2nd, 2015

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 2: "Baby It's Cold Outside"

Opened Doors: One

Ed note: I was originally going to write about "Baby It's Cold Outside" and talk about how much I liked the song in spite of the frightening message. There are great renditions of this song always coming out, including the gender reversal version with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lady Gaga. Ty wanted to get into the fun so he gets the floor for today,

Continuing the new countdown of holiday music, the "Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music", I'm going to write about a very famous holiday song that has an extremely horrifying scenario proposed throughout its entirety. The song I'm speaking of is "Baby It's Cold Outside".

Everyone knows this song. It was written by Frank Loesser in 1944 and it's been performed by a lot of musicians, most notably, Dean Martin and a female chorus in 1959. Some other notable performers include Sammy Davis Jr and Carmen McRae, Ray Charles and Betty Carter, Robert Palmer and Carnie Wilson and most recently Michael Buble and Idina Menzel. This is a very famous, very popular holiday song, but as I've gotten older and listened to it more and more, it portrays a possible sexual assault.

My wife loves holiday music and I've never been that much of a fan. It's too slow and makes me tired. I also dislike the new fad of playing holiday music before Thanksgiving is over. Let Thanksgiving be its own holiday. But, I'm not going to make my wife listen to only my music, I've stated before that I have very different taste in music from my wife, so it's easier to just let the holiday music play until the holiday is over. With that being said, I've heard "Baby It's Cold Outside" about ten million times in the past nine years. I've heard a lot of holiday songs, but "BICO" is the one that sticks out most to me. I originally thought it was a pretty cool tune.  I never really thought about the song, but the more I heard it, the more I listened and started to make out the lyrics to this song and they are disturbing.

The song opens with the lady saying, "I really can't stay" and the man responds, "But baby it's cold outside". The following lyrics in the first verse are as follows, with the lady singing first, then the man, "I've got to go away", "but baby it's cold outside", "the evening has been", "been hoping you'd drop in", "So very nice", " I'll hold your hand, they're just like ice". Let's break this down. Right off the bat the lady is ready to go. She's stated that she REALLY has to go. She clearly doesn't want to stay. But, the guy insists she stays by telling her it's too cold outside. The lady follows up saying she has got to go away. She is trying anything to get away from this man. The man, once again tells her it's too cold for her to leave. I imagine some creep standing in the doorway, a la Christopher Walken on the SNL skit, "The Continental". Then the lady even pays the man a compliment by saying the evening was nice, but reiterates the fact that she has to go. The man, unrelenting, tells her he will hold her hands to warm her up. In the next verse, the creepiness is ramped up. Throughout the second verse, the lady claims that her parents will worry if she's not home soon. She even claims she has to scurry. But, the man turns on the "charm" and calls her beautiful, asks her what's her hurry, proclaims he has a great fireplace, then makes her a drink. So, she starts out by telling the man that she has to leave because her folks will worry and this creep makes her a drink. This is beyond creepy now, this is sexual assault territory. In the third verse, the lady begins to worry what the neighbors will think if they see her there. The man once again hits her with the fact that it's cold and snowy outside, as if to say that the neighbors will be too preoccupied with the weather to worry about the upcoming sexual assault that most assuredly is going to occur. Then, the most messed up line of the whole song happens. The lady asks, "what's in this drink". Okay, back in the 40's that may have been cute, but in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's 2000's and especially now, how is that anything but a roofie in that drink. He's clearly slipped her something to make her inhibitions go away.

So creepy and just wrong.

Go and listen to the Buble and Menzel version and try not to be creeped out when you hear this line. The lady follows that up with "I wish I knew how to break this spell". The guys only response, there are no cabs, her eyes look like star lights and he takes her coat and hat, complementing her hair. What a god damn creep. The lady goes on to say she ought to say no to this man, he decides to move closer. She says that she will tell people at least she tried, almost saying, she tried to get away from him, but she was drugged. The man's response, "What's the sense of hurting my pride". What an asshole. This lady wants nothing to do with him, but he cannot take a hint. The lady then says things like "I simply must go", "the answer is no", the man's reply to this, "baby it's cold outside". So what if it's cold, she can make her way home. She's said no to you multiple times now, let it go, she doesn't want your company. Later, after talking about how her parents would worry, she starts to bring up her brother, sister, aunts and uncles. This lady is really grasping at straws trying to get out of this horrible situation. The creepy guys responds with stuff like, "never such a blizzard before", "waves upon a tropical storm" and the most creepy pick up line of all, "gosh your lips look delicious". What the hell is that! Is this some frat boy that won't take no for an answer? By this point, the lady should say no means no, blow her assault whistle and call the cops because this guy has bad intentions.

Thankfully, the lady finally gets out of the situation by grabbing her coat and saying she will see this man tomorrow. He responds with by asking how could she do this to him and think of his sorrow and even telling her she will get pneumonia and die. This guy is a straight up douchebag. He is what I envision every frat boy that's even been accused of sexual assault acts and looks like. Who gives a shit about your pride and sorrow, you slipped drugs into a lady's drink to try and get laid. You're a monster.

I CANNOT believe that this is a classic holiday song. It is the Christmas version of "Blurred Lines". Next time you hear "Baby It's Cold Outside", think about how disturbing this song truly is. I cannot hear it the same anymore. The creepiness has been burned into my brain. The fact that it's still performed and beloved is astounding, especially in the new PC culture we live in. I thought the song was ok before, but now I hate it since I understand how disturbing it is.

It's frightening.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He doesn't care how cold outside it is, if Michigan Football is on he is going home. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.