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Movies / On DVD / You Don't Mess With The Zohan
You Don't Mess With The Zohan

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You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008)

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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

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for You Don't Mess With The Zohan

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121 - 140 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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As one character says: "Can we do this another time? I think I have a real chance of keeping my food down tonight."

Full Review Source: Fresno Bee | comment Comment
06/06/08
Donald Munro
Donald Munro
Fresno Bee

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.

Full Review Source: MTV | comment Comment
06/06/08
Kurt Loder
Kurt Loder
MTV

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.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
06/06/08
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

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!

Full Review Source: EDGE Boston | comment Comment
06/06/08
David Foucher
David Foucher
EDGE Boston

Unless you find words like 'baba ghannouj' inherently hilarious, the nearly two-hour running time proves to be a punishing length.

Full Review Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram | comment Comment
06/06/08
Scott Von Doviak
Scott Von Doviak
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

You Don't Mess With the Zohan contains an important, if simplified, argument that is totally lost beneath a dozen hummus jokes too many.

Full Review Source: Colorado Springs Gazette | comment Comment
06/06/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
Colorado Springs Gazette

Zohan may have an Apatow label, but it's got Sandler guts.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
06/06/08
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
06/06/08
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

Given the missed opportunities for sharpening silliness with satire, it's impossible not to mess with the Zohan.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
06/06/08
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

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.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
06/06/08
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

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..

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
06/05/08
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
PopMatters

Methinks the kids to whom this superhero movie will most appeal won't be able to separate the stereotypes from the political wishful thinking.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
06/05/08
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

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.

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment 1 Comment
06/05/08
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

he film might be rated PG-13, but with this sort of verbal wit, it appears to be aimed at first-graders.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
06/05/08
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
eFilmCritic.com

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.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
06/05/08
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Cinematical

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.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
06/05/08
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

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.

Full Review Source: WJFK-FM (CBS Radio) | comment Comment
06/05/08
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy
WJFK-FM (CBS Radio)

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.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
06/05/08
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It's too long, with too many plot threads, too many penis jokes (and hummus jokes), and too many "unexpected" celebrity cameos.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
06/05/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

A desperate, miserable experience.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
06/05/08
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com
 
 
121 - 140 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
all

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. Opens in new window
More...

August 19, 2008: Arab Censors Mess With The Zohan Opens in new window
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. Opens in new window
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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