His humor works best when it's throw-away, but Zohan throws everything up to get a yuck. It's a shock to see how many 'yuck!' moments Sandler settles for.
Comment
06/06/08
You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008)
36
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:177
Fresh:64
Rotten:113
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.
Theatrical Release:Jun 6, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $100,018,837
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.... [More]
Starring: Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Nick Swardson
Director: Dennis Dugan
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Reviews for You Don't Mess With The Zohan
You Don't Mess with the Zohan is the best Adam Sandler comedy in ages - but for only the film's first 20 minutes.
06/06/08
Zohan tries for a message of social relevance with a nod to America as the land of multicultural coexistence, but its real value is in air-fluffing our cares away for a couple of hours.
06/06/08
Essentially, You Don't Mess With the Zohan isn't all that different in tone and sensibility from Sandler's previous films, but he's really trying in this one, and the effort pays off.
06/06/08
Zohan skirts any real issues, but maybe crass and messy is more reflective of the times and situation.
06/06/08
It’s at its best when Adam Sandler is catching fish with his buttocks, just like most of his movies.
06/06/08
This collision of sensibilities may be funnier than much of Sandler's recent repertoire, but it's also a clumsy, scattershot fiasco that's more likely to offend those with astute comedic taste than anyone on either side of the Israeli-Palestine equation.
06/06/08
Not that You Don't Mess with the Zohan is meant to be taken seriously, nor is it meant to be an intelligent discussion of world politics. But even as a zany comedy whose backdrop kinda-sorta happens to have some heft to it, it falters.
06/06/08
Evidently there's something even harder to pull off than Middle Eastern peace: a steady run of jokes that deserve our laughter -- if You Don't Mess With the Zohan is an indicator.
06/06/08
You mess with the Zohan at the risk of your own IQ. But anyone who realizes or cares about such hazards has likely crossed the movie off the to-see list already.
06/06/08
Top CriticThe Zohan could have worked significantly better if it was delivered in smaller doses, like say a reoccurring skit on "Saturday Night Live," but at 113 minutes the movie wears out its welcome long before the closing credits hit the screen.
06/06/08
Zohan coasts on its premise far more often than it fulfills it. But these days, you take your laughs where you find them. It's a pretty good scattershot comedy.
06/06/08
Sandler works so hard at this, and so shamelessly, that he battered down my resistance.
06/06/08
Top CriticThough a bunch of the jokes are milked too thin, there are some absurdly goofy sight gags, and a lineup of fun, silly cameos by guests from Chris Rock to Mariah Carey.
06/06/08
True Sandler fans will want to know only where Zohan stands on the A.S. scale, with Happy Gilmore at the top and Little Nicky at the bottom. I'd put it closer to the latter than the former.
06/06/08
If You Don't Mess With the Zohan isn't the bravest movie ever made about current Arab-Israeli relations, it's at least the bravest movie ever made about current Arab-Israeli relations featuring a former Mossad agent who shags Lainie Kazan.
06/06/08
Top CriticAt 113 minutes, the movie bloats, and the humor wears thin, but it's still one of Adam Sandler's sturdier vehicles. That's consumer guidance for Sandler fans -- not high praise.
06/06/08
Any positive messages are practically drowned out by the film's relentless crude humor, much of which is too dumb to be all that funny.
06/06/08
There's just enough chutzpah to Zohan to keep it amusing and sporadically uproarious. It's a decent comedy construct: a film one unforgiving editorial pass away from greatness.
06/06/08
It’s painfully unfunny and cumbersome for extended stretches, necessitating bizarre story detours to jumpstart jokes that, though funny, often seem completely misplaced.
06/06/08
Latest News for You Don't Mess With The Zohan
October 05, 2008:
This counter-terrorism satire is its own worst enemy. Especially whenever Sandler's whining geek turned combo swaggering assassin hair stylist's too-much-information bulging prosthetic crotch pops up. 
More...
August 19, 2008:
Arab Censors Mess With The Zohan
In a move that will leave some American filmgoers seething with jealousy, censors in Egypt, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates have banned Adam Sandler's You Don't Mess With... More...
August 16, 2008:
NewFilmReview: This counter-terrorism satire is its own worst enemy. Especially whenever Sandler's whining geek turned combo swaggering assassin hair stylist's too-much-information bulging prosthetic crotch pops up.
More...
July 13, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Moody Superheroes Rule the Box Office
Hellboy II: The Golden Army nudges Hancock out of first place while Murphy debuts as the summer's biggest flop. More...
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