Snubbed by the Oscars, Adam Sandler has taken to busking in Times Square.
At least that’s the premise of the Safdie brothers’ newest film: a short released on Vimeo this week starring the former “Saturday Night Live” funnyman and Benny Safdie, who co-directed the short as well as the Sandler-starring blockbuster “Uncut Gems” along with his brother, Josh.
“Goldman v Silverman” follows Rod Goldman (Sandler) as a gold-painted, Tin Man-like street performer who gets into a turf war with Al Silverman, played by Benny Safdie done up in a silver metallic outfit. To an electronic yet moody score, Goldman takes revenge on Silverman for making fun of him by tagging his metallic costume with gold spray paint. Dejected, Goldman eventually buys himself a hot dog.
Six minutes long, “Goldman v Silverman” comes after Sandler promised to make a film “so bad on purpose” if he didn’t get an Academy Award nomination for playing gambling-addicted jeweler Howard Ratner in the Diamond District thriller “Uncut Gems.”
The short’s description seems to even allude to Sandler’s Oscar snub. “Rod Goldman and Al Silverman are street performers who work the tourist scene of Times Square,” the synopsis reads. “Goldman gets no respect and Silverman is the first one to make sure of that.”
Last month amid Oscar buzz for “Uncut Gems,” Sandler joked on Howard Stern’s show: “If I don’t get [the nomination], I’m going to . . . do one that is so bad on purpose just to make you all pay.”
Only time will tell if “Goldman v Silverman” was indeed what Sandler meant, but fans of the Safdie duo’s gritty, bittersweet portraits of Manhattan’s oft-overlooked personalities will not be disappointed. What’s more, the Times Square tourists and local passersby who serve as extras in the short clearly don’t know they’re getting a show from two Hollywood heavyweights.
Despite missing out on the Academy’s nomination for Best Film, the brothers are up for a handful of Indie Spirit Awards on Feb. 8.