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Movies / On DVD / You Don't Mess With The Zohan
You Don't Mess With The Zohan

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You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008)

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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.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for crude and sexual content throughout, language and nudity.

Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

Genre: Comedies

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.... 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]

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

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

Director: Dennis Dugan

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

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Release:

Oct 7, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Comedy superstar Adam Sandler is back - and funnier than ever - as The Zohan, the finest counterterrorist agent the Israeli army has. That is, until he fakes his death and travels to Manhattan to live his dream...as a hairdresser. Now this skilled fighting machine who used to clip bad guys is out to prove he can make the cut as a top stylist. All goes silky smooth until his cover is blown when he's recognized by a Palestinian cab driver (Rob Schneider). Now, The Zohan must fight to live a peaceful new life in New York in this razor-sharp action-packed comedy from Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, Judd Apatow and Dennis Dugan.
  • Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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    Reviews for You Don't Mess With The Zohan

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    141 - 160 (sorted by date)
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    With the talented eye of an experienced editor from outside the Happy Madison circle, "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" might have actually been good.

    Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Laura Clifford
    Laura Clifford
    Reeling Reviews

    You don't laugh with the Zohan, either.

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Sean O'Connell
    Sean O'Connell
    Filmcritic.com

    Somewhere inside this Adam Sandler slacker silliness there is a fierce and provocative little satire trying to get out.

    Full Review Source: Beliefnet | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Nell Minow
    Nell Minow
    Beliefnet

    If silliness equaled greatness, You Don't Mess With The Zohan would instantly join Citizen Kane and It's A Wonderful Life high atop the pantheon of great American films.

    Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Nathan Rabin
    Nathan Rabin
    AV Club

    No matter what you think about Zohan's humor or its politics, in no universe should it have been longer than 85 minutes. 112 is punishment.

    Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Eugene Novikov
    Eugene Novikov
    Film Blather

    Let me be blunt: You Don’t Mess With the Zohan is the finest post-Zionist action-hairdressing sex comedy I have ever seen.

    comment Comment
    06/05/08
    A.O. Scott
    A.O. Scott
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Someone needs to tell Adam Sandler enough is enough.

    Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Sue Pierman
    Sue Pierman
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    You Don't Mess With the Zohan is like a hellacious bad-hair day -- unkempt, unsightly and mildly embarrassing at best.

    Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Alex Markerson
    Alex Markerson
    E! Online

    There are almost enough insightful left-field throwaways to make you forgive all the old-lady gross-out sex, oversized penis jokes and Sandler company regular Dennis Dugan's typically abysmal, inattentive direction.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Sean Burns
    Sean Burns
    Philadelphia Weekly

    Just when you think they're on to something, the film reverts to the usual Sandler and Co. laziness

    Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Eric D. Snider
    Eric D. Snider
    EricDSnider.com

    Eventually falls apart in a heap of pointless celebrity cameos and repetitive jokes about hummus.

    Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Josh Bell
    Josh Bell
    Las Vegas Weekly

    More annoying than the crassness, really, is the directorial sloppiness — which results in a virtually mirthless first half-hour.

    Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Bob Mondello
    Bob Mondello
    NPR.org

    While Zohan purveys the familiar Sandler mix of Jewvenile humor and geriatric love, it's less about a manic manchild than it is a raunchily wholesome message movie that deploys stereotypes in order to smash them.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Carrie Rickey
    Carrie Rickey
    Philadelphia Inquirer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Sandler has shown some spark in more dramatic roles, so it's disappointing to see him return to his one-note 'form.'

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Jeff Vice
    Jeff Vice
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City

    Crude, idiotic, ridiculous -- in other words, flat-out hilarious, and Sandler's funniest film in years.

    Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Rafer Guzman
    Rafer Guzman
    Newsday

    In the end, the movie feels as if it exists only to display the Sandler's biceps.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Stephen Hunter
    Stephen Hunter
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The movie isn't exactly a breakthrough for Sandler, but is a nice reminder of his expansive talents and kinder instincts that only occasionally win out in his films.

    Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Katey Rich
    Katey Rich
    Film Journal International

    Recommended for the drunken college guy in all of us ... the funniest Adam Sandler movie since Big Daddy.

    Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Matt Pais
    Matt Pais
    Metromix.com

    Happily, You Don't Mess With the Zohan, Sandler's first collaboration with co-writer and current Hollywood comedy godhead Judd Apatow, is a crazed, delightfully bizarre return to form for Sandler.

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Marc Savlov
    Marc Savlov
    Austin Chronicle

    It says something generally about the acting when Mariah Carey, playing herself, is as good or better than just about everyone else.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Bill Goodykoontz
    Bill Goodykoontz
    Arizona Republic
     
     
    141 - 160 (sorted by date)
    Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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    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. Opens in new window
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    August 19, 2008: Arab Censors Mess With The Zohan Opens in new window
    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. Opens in new window
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