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You Don't Mess with the Zohan

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You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)

34%
35%
37%
N/A
N/A
34 %
Reviews Counted: 166 Fresh: 57  Rotten:109 Average Rating: 4.6/10
 
Consensus: You Don't Mess With the Zohan features intermittent laughs, and will please Sandler diehards, but after awhile the leaky premise wears thin.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

Theatrical Release: Jun 6, 2008 Wide

Box Office: $99,436,165

Synopsis: Dennis Dugan (BIG DADDY, HAPPY GILMORE) directs this comedy co-written by Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, and Robert Smigel. Disco- and hummus-loving Zohan (Sandler) is the Israeli army's best weapon. He can single-handedly take out terrorists and swim like a dolphin, and still find time to... Dennis Dugan (BIG DADDY, HAPPY GILMORE) directs this comedy co-written by Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, and Robert Smigel. Disco- and hummus-loving Zohan (Sandler) is the Israeli army's best weapon. He can single-handedly take out terrorists and swim like a dolphin, and still find time to charm the ladies. But this lethal weapon is tired of fighting Palestinian terrorists like the Phantom (John Turturro). He has bigger dreams: he wants to cut and style hair. Unfortunately, once Zohan arrives in New York City with a new look straight out of the 1980s and an assumed identity after faking his own death, his lack of experience gets him laughed out of salon after salon. Finally, Dalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui), a Palestinian salon owner, gives him a shot, and the older patrons love him. But just as Zohan is hitting his stride, Salim, a Palestinian New York City cabbie (Rob Schneider) recognizes him, and suddenly the Zohan's dream is in jeopardy. To confuse matters more, there is a Trump-like developer (Michael Buffer) who is trying to clear out the Manhattan neighborhood where Israelis and Palestinians peacefully coexist in order to build a mall. A bulked-up Sandler is amusing as Zohan, and this is Schneider's best performance in years. Despite the extreme stereotyping, there is an underlying message about the futility of war and fact that people really are, after all, just people. The film is peppered with brief appearances from a menagerie of celebrities, including Chris Rock, Dave Matthews, Charlotte Rae, Kevin James, John McEnroe, Mariah Carey, George Takei, and Bruce Vilanch. Lainie Kazan and Nick Swardson also star in this film as a mother and son who befriend the new immigrant. [More]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Nick Swardson, Lainie Kazan

Director: Dennis Dugan
Screenwriter: Robert Smigel, Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow
Producer: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo
Composer: Rupert Gregson-Williams

DVD Info

Release:

Oct 7, 2008

[DVD Details]

Blu-Ray Disc Features:

  • Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai
  • Subtitles - Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, Indonesian, Korean,
  • Portuguese, Spanish, Thai - Optional

Pre-order it on DVD

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Ratings Image
2/5

Sandler prefers to fall back on cartoonish stunt action, sleazy innuendo and bodily fluid gags. These things may satisfy his core fan-base, but everyone else will leave the cinema feeling a bit cheated.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image
1/5

The worst thing about the film is not that but the constant, feeble sexual innuendos with which Sandler saddles himself.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Derek Malcolm
This is London
Ratings Image
N/A

Images of a thrusting male pelvis haunt the sensitive critic yet.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Martin Hoyle
Financial Times
Ratings Image
1/5

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine isn’t exactly the obvious choice of topic for a comedy – which is perhaps why this film is about as funny as a suicide bombing.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Sun Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

The central character may be a spin on Borat, and many of the jokes a touch familiar, but the whole package is so unbelievably silly, you’ll find yourself laughing for at least half the running time.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
Ratings Image
3/5

The central character may be a spin on Borat, and many of the jokes a touch familiar, but the whole package is so unbelievably silly, you’ll find yourself laughing for at least half the running time.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
Ratings Image
1/5

By the end, I felt as though I had been carpet-bombed by comedy's answer to Vladimir Putin. But, on second thoughts, Putin is funnier.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]
Ratings Image
5/10

There are enough comedy diamonds in the rough here though to make it worth a look, but only just.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Heart 106.2
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
2/5

After playing it relatively straight in his recent movies, Adam Sandler goofs off big time here, laying on a thick Israeli accent and proving real men blow dry. There are funny highpoints, but the grab-bag approach never quite gels.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Tom Charity
Total Film
Ratings Image
3/5

While the premise may not stand up to scrutiny, Sandler's performance - relatively restrained and nicely judged - makes you almost warm to the man who dumbly shrugged his way through years of neo-com tat.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Tim Evans
Sky Movies
Ratings Image
N/A

But it's Sandler who is pivotal to its amiable success. Less precious, less power-tripping than the likes of Ben Stiller, Jim Carrey or Mike Myers, he never looks down on his material. He makes us laugh by willpower as much as technique.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Sukhdev Sandhu
Daily Telegraph
Ratings Image
2/5

This is a silly, crass comedy about a badass Israeli commando who secretly longs to be a hairdresser specialising in 1980s stylings.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Ratings Image
3/5

You Don’t Mess With the Zohan is a rude and routine Adam Sandler farce with some exceedingly sharp lines.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Ratings Image
1/5

There's a broad theory that no matter how funny the comedy, 90 minutes is the point at which audiences have had enough. You Don't Mess With The Zohan trundles on for 113 minutes, none of them funny.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Jim Hall
Channel 4 Film
Ratings Image
2/6

Another sloppily concocted and naggingly non-controversial pretext for Sandler to pelvic thrust his way though a succession of increasingly wacky fish-out-of-water situations.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
David Jenkins
Time Out
Ratings Image
3/5

A strange, mostly enjoyable mix of big political questions and crude comedy, Zohan overcomes its skeletal plotting and uneven gag ratio through Sandler's sheer commitment to nonsense.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
Ratings Image
1/5

O pior filme da carreira de Adam Sandler... e se considerarmos que estamos falando do gênio por trás de O Paizão e Little Nicky, esta constatação se torna mais do que deprimente; torna-se apavorante.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/08
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image
3/5

Amusing Adam Sandler comedy with a bonkers premise, a surprisingly likeable central character and a handful of decent gags.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/14/08
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image
4/10

Just when you think civilisation may be moving forward a bit (OK, I'm an optimist), another Adam Sandler movie comes along.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/14/08
Victor Olliver
Teletext
Ratings Image
2/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jonathan Kiefer
Sacramento News & Review
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Will be on DVD in a month and a half.
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