As one character says: "Can we do this another time? I think I have a real chance of keeping my food down tonight."
You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:177
Fresh:64
Rotten:113
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: You Don't Mess With the Zohan features intermittent laughs, and will please Sandler diehards, but after awhile the leaky premise wears thin.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for crude and sexual content throughout, language and nudity.
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:15-08-2008
Synopsis: Dennis Dugan (BIG DADDY, HAPPY GILMORE) directs this comedy co-written by Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, and Robert Smigel. Disco- and hummus-loving Zohan (Sandler) is the Israeli army's best weapon.... Dennis Dugan (BIG DADDY, HAPPY GILMORE) directs this comedy co-written by Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, and Robert Smigel. Disco- and hummus-loving Zohan (Sandler) is the Israeli army's best weapon. He can single-handedly take out terrorists and swim like a dolphin, and still find time to charm the ladies. But this lethal weapon is tired of fighting Palestinian terrorists like the Phantom (John Turturro). He has bigger dreams: he wants to cut and style hair. Unfortunately, once Zohan arrives in New York City with a new look straight out of the 1980s and an assumed identity after faking his own death, his lack of experience gets him laughed out of salon after salon. Finally, Dalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui), a Palestinian salon owner, gives him a shot, and the older patrons love him. But just as Zohan is hitting his stride, Salim, a Palestinian New York City cabbie (Rob Schneider) recognizes him, and suddenly the Zohan's dream is in jeopardy. To confuse matters more, there is a Trump-like developer (Michael Buffer) who is trying to clear out the Manhattan neighborhood where Israelis and Palestinians peacefully coexist in order to build a mall. A bulked-up Sandler is amusing as Zohan, and this is Schneider's best performance in years. Despite the extreme stereotyping, there is an underlying message about the futility of war and fact that people really are, after all, just people. The film is peppered with brief appearances from a menagerie of celebrities, including Chris Rock, Dave Matthews, Charlotte Rae, Kevin James, John McEnroe, Mariah Carey, George Takei, and Bruce Vilanch. Lainie Kazan and Nick Swardson also star in this film as a mother and son who befriend the new immigrant. [More]
Starring: Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Nick Swardson
Starring: Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Nick Swardson, Lainie Kazan, Rob Schneider
Director: Dennis Dugan
Director: Dennis Dugan
Screenwriter: Robert Smigel, Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow
Producer: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo
Composer: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Reviews for You Don't Mess With The Zohan
a goofy satire of Arab-Israeli relations, and already there's been earnest media whining about this %u2014 the playing of such a combustible subject for laughs. Too bad for the whiners that the picture is so funny.
The notion that both sides are equally responsible for the intentional killing of civilians requires total ignorance of what's actually transpiring in the region.
A movie that de-glorifies sex into a tool used for career advancement, altruistic joy and in lieu of "thank-you" note? Sign me up!
Unless you find words like 'baba ghannouj' inherently hilarious, the nearly two-hour running time proves to be a punishing length.
You Don't Mess With the Zohan contains an important, if simplified, argument that is totally lost beneath a dozen hummus jokes too many.
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo removed the Do Not Open band from the jar of Terror jokes, and Zohan reaches in with greedy hands, adding Arab-Israeli jokes as well.
Given the missed opportunities for sharpening silliness with satire, it's impossible not to mess with the Zohan.
Mess with The Zohan if you like, but be prepared for the consequences. This picture is to comedy what carpet bombing is to aerial warfare: The onslaught is so relentless that occasional direct hits on the funny bone are a statistical guarantee.
From the wholly insular and yet perfectly realized fantasy world it creates to the nonstop barrage of ethnic slams, You Don't Mess with the Zohan is a comedy of contradictions..
Methinks the kids to whom this superhero movie will most appeal won't be able to separate the stereotypes from the political wishful thinking.
The movie paints crude and insulting portraits of Israelis and Palestinians, going in for the basest stereotypes that would only bring a smile to the face of a Klansman.
he film might be rated PG-13, but with this sort of verbal wit, it appears to be aimed at first-graders.
Let's not mince words here, or hem and haw and add caveats about a few laughs or good intentions: You Don't Mess With the Zohan is astonishingly, impressively, depressingly bad.
Any hopes of it actually transforming into a dark and corrosive satire are pretty much dissipated in the first few minutes when we get inexplicable close-ups of our hero catching both a Hacky Sack and an entire barbecued fish between his butt cheeks.
I really wanted to hate this movie so much based on the trailers and Sandler's past couple of films but his outrageous performance won me over and made me chuckle throughout the entire film.
Like too many comedies these days, the humor is based more on the concept than execution... and the scripting is lazy. But there is a weird mixed message behind the jokes.
It's too long, with too many plot threads, too many penis jokes (and hummus jokes), and too many "unexpected" celebrity cameos.
Latest News for You Don't Mess With The Zohan
October 05, 2008:
This counter-terrorism satire is its own worst enemy. Especially whenever Sandler's whining geek turned combo swaggering assassin hair stylist's too-much-information bulging prosthetic crotch pops up. ![]()
More...
August 19, 2008:
Arab Censors Mess With The Zohan ![]()
In a move that will leave some American filmgoers seething with jealousy, censors in Egypt, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates have banned Adam Sandler's You Don't Mess With... More...
August 16, 2008:
NewFilmReview: This counter-terrorism satire is its own worst enemy. Especially whenever Sandler's whining geek turned combo swaggering assassin hair stylist's too-much-information bulging prosthetic crotch pops up. ![]()
More...
July 13, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Moody Superheroes Rule the Box Office
Hellboy II: The Golden Army nudges Hancock out of first place while Murphy debuts as the summer's biggest flop. More...
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