No te metas con Zohan

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.

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'.

This movie starts off as being so overwhelmingly stupid, that it makes you laugh. And it goes on for the duration of the movie. Special effects and stuff are clearly not that good but that is what is making me laugh for a large part of the movie.

In the end, this is a movie good enough to entertain you and bring a big smile on your face.

I've been a fan of Adam Sandler for much of my life. . . all the way back to his SNL and 'Airheads' days. I've seen him go through many phases, from some great films like 'Punch-Drunk Love,' 'Reign Over Me,' and 'Big Daddy' to some of his lower-end films like 'Eight Crazy Nights' and 'Little Nicky.'

'You Don't Mess With the Zohan' is not one of his best films, but it's still enjoyable. Personally, I'd place it along the comedic quality of 'Billy Madison'. . . contains mostly sight gags and juvenile humour. But, c'mon. . . sometimes that's what we need. Our world is going to Hell, so shouldn't we have some relief from the pain and torment we must witness on a daily basis? No. It's not a great film. But it's funny and stupid and entertaining. And that's the reason to see it. . . don't expect a comedic masterpiece like 'His Girl Friday' or 'Forrest Gump.' Expect what the film actually as and accept it as such. . . if it's not for you, then it wasn't MEANT for you.

Final verdict: 6.5/10.

The critics are out in full force and tearing this movie a new one. I can understand some of the criticism, it's a brainless comedy chop full of cliché jokes, stereotypes, crude toilet humor, so it's to be expected that it's going to receive a lot of negativity.

With that said, that's exactly why I loved this movie so much. I'm a movie buff, have over 2,000 DVDs in my collection. I love virtually every movie genre there is. So, I knew full well what I was getting myself into before I paid my ten dollars and a Coke the size of Zohan's crotch.

What I loved about this movie so much, was that the jokes never stopped coming. I've watched all of Sandlers movies, many of them have long breaks of nothing much to get in stitches about. Sandler is the type of actor that I look to for this sort of humor. When you're having a bad day and want to watch a brainless, popcorn flick that will most likely have you cracking up virtually the entire movie, then I suggest you see this movie as soon as possible.

This is another reason why I love Sandler so much. He's not afraid to push the envelope to garner a laugh. He knows he's capable of doing a more serious role and have success. I know how good he was in Punch-Drunk Love and Reign Over Me, but he's very versatile and I can't complain about an actor with that quality.

I gave this a 7 out of 10, I'm not afraid to admit that I liked the Zohan.., and I certainly wouldn't mess with him!