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 | Soldier | Israeli | 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 Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | 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:

Adam Sandler's daughter Sadie Sandler and wife Jackie Sandler make an appearance at the end of the movie. His daughter is seen taking a "Goat Ride", while his wife holds onto her.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Israel plays Lebanon in the hacky sack tournament, yet the Israeli flag is shown with the Palestinian flag.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References Lethal Weapon (1987)

Soundtrack:

Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja (Disco Dancer Remix)

Silly crude nonsense that is funny if you are in the mood

Zohan Dvir is a legendary Mossad agent known for his unique skills and indestructible nature but, unlike his current violent job, Zohan's dream is to become a hairdresser and bless the world with the gift of silky-soft and styled hair. He seems destined to never know this dream though, until he decides to fake his own death during a battle with Palestinian freedom fighter/terrorist The Phantom. One smuggled flight later, Zohan arrives in New York to take up a position at the salon of Paul Mitchell but finds that he cannot just walk into this world of styling and washing. Refusing to work in an electric store, Zohan finds work as a cleaner in a small salon run by a Palestinian woman, where he waits his chance to prove his skills.

The unusual title and setting for the characters were enough to make me forget that, ultimately, what I was about to watch was nothing more than an Adam Sandler comedy. You see, mostly, when you come to a Sandler comedy you know what you are going to get and have a feel for whether or not it is your type of thing. Now the quality of his films may vary but generally what he does and how he does it in most films is pretty constant. However, Mossad agents who wish to pursue a dream of hairdressing in the US is not one of his usual themes and somehow I thought this might be more than just an Adam Sandler comedy as I have experienced them in the past.

The film itself didn't allow me to sit in this misconception for very long as from the very start we find ourselves with physical comedy and jokes reliant totally on body parts and sex organs. This continues with ongoing humour drawn from a young man having intercourse with elderly women on a frighteningly regular basis. Of course if I still hadn't worked it out, then what really reminds me where I am is that the entire film is silly beyond belief but yet also still finds time for a stunning young woman to fall for the main character no matter how arrogant/stupid/unlikable he is - a persistent thread in Sandler films. So, knowing what you are getting into is important but, once there, what does Zohan do for the casual viewer - ie not the audience member who puts Sandler as #1 on the list of all time comedians but rather someone who sees him as, at best, a man who can turn his juvenile comedy into a guilty pleasure. Well, Zohan is not really that funny a film but it just about has enough wild humour and creativity to it to make it quite fun. I was not laughing out loud that often but it did have plenty of amusing moments that made me not hate it - which was a possibility. What helps it is that it throws itself totally into how nonsensical it all is and never really attempts to step away from it, thus maintaining the tone that is knowingly silly and makes it possible for the audience to accept this and not unfairly expect anything more.

Of course this does not make it brilliant by any means and the film is still only silly fun and not a hilarious comedy that is accessible to all. Sandler himself throws himself into his role and his accent even if he still has the same crude material as ever. The fact that he makes fun of the Israel/Palestine situation is a move that gives his material a "different" feel but it is essentially a different doorway to the same material. He plays up the silly aspect but of more help is a wonderfully daft Turturro, Schneider and others, who get easy laughs without the need to progress plot. As she did in "In The Mix", Chriqui concentrates on being light and sexy – not that easy with her accent but she does her basic requirement.

Zohan looks like it will be a daring and imaginative comedy but, beyond the basic design of the film the material is pretty much what you would expect from an Adam Sandler film in so much as it is crude, silly and aimed at a teenage market. It is silly and if you are in the mode it is quite fun but if you are looking for anything more than that then you'll be disappointed. An usual Adam Sandler film, but still very much an Adam Sandler film.