You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)

Director:

Dennis Dugan

Writers (WGA):

Adam Sandler (written by) &
Robert Smigel (written by) ...

Release Date:

6 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Lather. Rinse. Save the world.

Plot:

An Israeli Special Forces Soldier fakes his death so he can re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist.

Plot Keywords:

Palestinian | Israeli | Soldier | Landlord | New York City

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Adam Sandler	...	Zohan Dvir
John Turturro	...	The Phantom / Fatoush
Emmanuelle Chriqui	...	Dahlia
Nick Swardson	...	Michael
Lainie Kazan	...	Gail
Ido Mosseri	...	Oori
Rob Schneider	...	Salim
Dave Matthews	...	James
Michael Buffer	...	Walbridge
Charlotte Rae	...	Mrs. Greenhouse
Keana Texeira	...	Rock-throwing Girl
Sayed Badreya	...	Hamdi
Daoud Heidami	...	Nasi
Kevin Nealon	...	Kevin
Robert Smigel	...	Yosi

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, language and nudity.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44058) | Ireland:15A | UK:12A | Sweden:11 | Finland:K-13 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIB | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:11 | Argentina:16 | India:A (cinema release) | Peru:14 | Austria:12 | Denmark:7 | Iceland:10 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Happy Madison Productions

Trivia:

The Arabic text on The Phantom's head band spells SH-B-H, or 'Shabbah'.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Zohan is cutting hair for the first time, the hair goes in and out of the sink between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Danny: You don't mess with the Zohan!

Movie Connections:

References Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Ma Sheba Ba

Not as bad as everyone says.

While I've never been a -huge- fan of Adam Sandler's films, I have watched them and laughed throughout most of them. I'm the type of guy who enjoys some slapstick, some raunchy humor, and a lot of zanyness.

I went into Zohan not expecting anything but pure frivolous humor. You don't go into films like this with any expectations, and I think that's where a lot of the reviewers prior to myself went wrong. They went in expecting to see an evolution of Sandler's humor, and while I would say that Zohan raised the bar a tad, it's still Adam Sandler. Yes, it's going to have a corny ending, a lot of physical humor, and a healthy dose of humor aimed at the more intelligent in the crowd as well.

Overall, I couldn't stop giggling, laughing, and chuckling throughout most of the film. After a long streak of not seeing any humor films, I thought it was the perfect thing to bring me back to comedies. The last few years, especially, have been incredibly lackluster in regards to comedies (if that's what evolution of the genre is, count me out, by the way), and I found Zohan refreshing.

I think another thing a lot of the other reviewers missed, is that the film in no way expected to take itself seriously. The only serious moments were cheesy, predictable, and ultimately corny, which is irony in itself and only contributed to my bemused chuckling. Yes, a lot of the humor bordered on racial stereotyping, there were a lot of over-the-top accents and allusions to the Middle East, so if you're the type to get touchy about that, feel free to skip. I found it to be a rather hilarious joke on the seriousness that everybody applies to the stereotyping. The stereotyping is, actually, rather fair and towards the end even shows plenty of "good stereotyping" (as accurate as stereotyping ever is, which is to say, rarely).

Really, the film laughs at itself. Are there some bum moments? Certainly, but it seems that's been the case for almost every film I've seen in the last few years, but it was grand seeing the cast and crew not try to make this the 'next great comedy' and just have a buttload of fun.

And if the cast and crew are laughing at themselves (which you can clearly feel through the screen), you can't help but laugh with them.

If you want to spend an hour or two snickering and have an open mind, give Zohan a shot. Don't expect an evolution of comedy. Don't expect the bar to be raised, because that's not what this film was trying to do. It was trying to be ridiculous and make people utter that ever so fantastic groaning-giggle followed by the heart chuckle.

Don't let the other critics fool you, they've probably forgotten the meaning of the word 'satire'.