| You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008) |
Adam Sandler stars as Zohan, an Israeli counter-terrorist soldier who aspires to become a hairstylist. He fakes his own death and moves to New York in the hopes of realising his dream. "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" takes place primarily in midtown New York and has a supporting cast that includes Rob Schneider and Henry Winkler. Directed by Dennis Dugan, expect more humour in the same vein as "I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry" and "The Benchwarmers".
It just doesn't cut it for me
The only reason I watched this was because of Sandler. He did have some pretty good and funny stuff in the past, but Zohan definitely will not add itself to that category. I understand that the show isn't suppose to take itself seriously, but it was so unfunny that it was laughable. There were only a few laugh out loud moments, and everything else was just distasteful. The plot aimed at some meaning, but the way it was achieved at the end was quite pitifully laughable. Please only watch it if you have no choice.
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You don't mess with Adam Sandler – but if there's a standout great letdown in terms of the always-promising trailer and the film proper, "You Don't Mess With The Zohan" takes the biscuit for most disappointing comedy this year.
Alright, so we're only halfway into the year – but this particular Adam Sandler movie is going to have to try really hard to make a substantial impact on the regional market. So irreverent and intermittent is the content in "Zohan" that it wouldn't be surprising if we are reduced to settling for the more accessible toilet humour on offer, like a fish biting the balls of our titular Israeli army commando. Relying somewhat heavily on one's understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the movie is rife with Middle East culture-specific quirks that would perhaps be funny only if you were sitting next to a talkative Eyal Berkovic in the cinema.
The thematic disengagement from "Zohan" isn't the only thing faulty. Considering that Judd Apatow ("Superbad", "40-Year-Old Virgin") was partner in comedy crime with Sandler for co-writing the script, it's odd to note how fleetingly random the humour is in "Zohan". Apatow's knack for crippling laughs is sorely absent, probably dissolved in the unconvincing storyboarding by director Dennis Dugan, the guy who was behind the last memorable Sandler effort, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry".
Response to this movie has been mixed, with a general skew towards the unfavourable. Adam Sandler is definitely an acquired taste – though he seems to be the new guy to beat in over-the-top comedy after Jim Carrey. Let's not even talk about Rob Schneider!
Steeped in unsophisticated Americana, I wouldn't recommend you mess with the Zohan at all. Just leave him alone with his Avalon haircut and bad accent. |
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