You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

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 | Soldier | Israeli | New York City | Landlord

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Adam Sandler	...	Zohan Dvir
John Turturro	...	The Phantom / Fartoshi
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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Happy Madison Productions

Trivia:

The opening scene on a Tel-Aviv beach strongly references the film Metzitzim (1972) starring Uri Zohar, Israel's "bad boy" of the '60s and early '70s, who later became an orthodox rabbi. Zohan looks just like Zohar, including hairstyle and wardrobe.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Zohan is allowed to shampoo the hair of Mrs. Skitzer, he initially lays her back and visibly moves her long hair into the washing sink. In the very next cut, her hair is outside of the sink again. Then when he pulls the purple cover up over her body, her hair is again back inside the sink.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

Soundtrack:

Beautiful Life

Very Funny

I have been coming to IMDb for movie reviews for a few years now and have never commented on a movie...until now. I must say that I was personally a bit confused when I saw the rating on this movie. I expected it to be much higher. (currently a 5.8) The theater was packed on the day I went to see this (opening weekend)...and I went with 6 other people. All of us laughed a lot and left the theater talking about how we thought it was a very funny movie. Consistently the remarks were that we didn't expect it to be so good! The laughs in the theater were very loud and seemed to be coming from throughout the auditorium. Perhaps this humor isn't for everyone but it never occurred to me until now that there would be so many lower ratings. I say this because I most always feel the reviews here at IMDb are right on and rely upon them for my movie going choices. My wife feels the same way about this...very confused at the lower score. Oh well...each to their own as humor is unique to each individual. My recommendation: For anyone considering this movie...if you like Adam Sandler, over the top sexual humor and just plain weird material....see this movie.