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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

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Reviews for You Don't Mess With The Zohan

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141 - 160 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

With the talented eye of an experienced editor from outside the Happy Madison circle, "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" might have actually been good.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
06/05/08
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

You don't laugh with the Zohan, either.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
06/05/08
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Filmcritic.com

Somewhere inside this Adam Sandler slacker silliness there is a fierce and provocative little satire trying to get out.

Full Review Source: Beliefnet | comment Comment
06/05/08
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Beliefnet

If silliness equaled greatness, You Don't Mess With The Zohan would instantly join Citizen Kane and It's A Wonderful Life high atop the pantheon of great American films.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
06/05/08
Nathan Rabin
Nathan Rabin
AV Club

No matter what you think about Zohan's humor or its politics, in no universe should it have been longer than 85 minutes. 112 is punishment.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
06/05/08
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

Let me be blunt: You Don’t Mess With the Zohan is the finest post-Zionist action-hairdressing sex comedy I have ever seen.

comment Comment
06/05/08
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Someone needs to tell Adam Sandler enough is enough.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
06/05/08
Sue Pierman
Sue Pierman
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

You Don't Mess With the Zohan is like a hellacious bad-hair day -- unkempt, unsightly and mildly embarrassing at best.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
06/05/08
Alex Markerson
Alex Markerson
E! Online

There are almost enough insightful left-field throwaways to make you forgive all the old-lady gross-out sex, oversized penis jokes and Sandler company regular Dennis Dugan's typically abysmal, inattentive direction.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
06/05/08
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

Just when you think they're on to something, the film reverts to the usual Sandler and Co. laziness

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
06/05/08
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Eventually falls apart in a heap of pointless celebrity cameos and repetitive jokes about hummus.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
06/05/08
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

More annoying than the crassness, really, is the directorial sloppiness — which results in a virtually mirthless first half-hour.

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
06/05/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

While Zohan purveys the familiar Sandler mix of Jewvenile humor and geriatric love, it's less about a manic manchild than it is a raunchily wholesome message movie that deploys stereotypes in order to smash them.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
06/05/08
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

Sandler has shown some spark in more dramatic roles, so it's disappointing to see him return to his one-note 'form.'

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
06/05/08
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Crude, idiotic, ridiculous -- in other words, flat-out hilarious, and Sandler's funniest film in years.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
06/05/08
Rafer Guzman
Rafer Guzman
Newsday

In the end, the movie feels as if it exists only to display the Sandler's biceps.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
06/05/08
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post

The movie isn't exactly a breakthrough for Sandler, but is a nice reminder of his expansive talents and kinder instincts that only occasionally win out in his films.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
06/05/08
Katey Rich
Katey Rich
Film Journal International

Recommended for the drunken college guy in all of us ... the funniest Adam Sandler movie since Big Daddy.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
06/05/08
Matt Pais
Matt Pais
Metromix.com

Happily, You Don't Mess With the Zohan, Sandler's first collaboration with co-writer and current Hollywood comedy godhead Judd Apatow, is a crazed, delightfully bizarre return to form for Sandler.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
06/05/08
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

It says something generally about the acting when Mariah Carey, playing herself, is as good or better than just about everyone else.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
06/05/08
Bill Goodykoontz
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic
 
 
141 - 160 (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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