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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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    161 - 178 (sorted by date)
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    The whole style of humor seems dated.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Phil Villarreal
    Phil Villarreal
    Arizona Daily Star

    It's as if Sandler took a trip to Israel and came back with 6,000 jokes about hummus (the 6,000 penis jokes he didn't have to go anywhere to find).

    Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Josh Larsen
    Josh Larsen
    Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

    This is mostly tame stuff.

    Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
    06/05/08
    Ben Kenigsberg
    Ben Kenigsberg
    Time Out New York

    Finally, a funny Sandler movie. It's his franchise. He's sexy too! But why all the Mel Gibson slams?

    Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment 4 Comments
    06/04/08
    Victoria Alexander
    Victoria Alexander
    FilmsInReview.com

    A genial, hit-and-miss return to the ridiculous for Adam Sandler.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
    06/04/08
    Sheri Linden
    Sheri Linden
    Hollywood Reporter

    Zohan is a mess and then some.

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    06/04/08
    Brian Lowry
    Brian Lowry
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Forget Monty Python, You Don't Mess With the Zohan is a circus that never really flies.

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    06/04/08
    Lisa Schwarzbaum
    Lisa Schwarzbaum
    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Lots of lewd Sandler stuff, but also some laughs.

    Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
    06/04/08
    S. Jhoanna Robledo
    S. Jhoanna Robledo
    Common Sense Media

    In Zohan, Sandler, his co-writers and director Dennis Dugan keep tossing away jokes and throwing away significance.

    Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
    06/04/08
    Armond White
    Armond White
    New York Press

    For all its perceived shock value, all the concern that a comedy about conflict in the Middle East would offend just about everyone imaginable, You Don't Mess With the Zohan is really rather conventional and familiar.

    Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
    06/04/08
    Christy Lemire
    Christy Lemire
    Associated Press
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    When I watched "Zohan," I felt like I was watching two different films...both of them not very good.

    Full Review Source: Nolan's Pop Culture Review | comment Comment
    06/04/08
    Michael A. Smith
    Michael A. Smith
    Nolan's Pop Culture Review

    I like Sandler's trademark combination of shock tactics and sweetness. There's a crazed good-heartedness to Zohan.

    Full Review Source: City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul | comment Comment
    06/04/08
    Ella Taylor
    Ella Taylor
    City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

    But really -- 113 minutes? Some judicious trimming might have made the jokes' hit-to-miss ratio way more tolerable.

    Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
    06/03/08
    Alonso Duralde
    Alonso Duralde
    MSNBC

    Zohan is, against all odds, Sandler's funniest effort in close to a decade. Not exactly a monumental feat given the junk he's recently made a mint foisting on the American public, but still.

    Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
    06/03/08
    Nick Schager
    Nick Schager
    Slant Magazine

    Another in the string of exercises in coarse infantilism that represent the studios' idea of farce nowadays.

    Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
    06/03/08
    Frank Swietek
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    You don't have to be a Sandler fan: if vulgarity mixed with a little sentiment is your thing, you've come to the right place.

    Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
    06/02/08
    Harvey S. Karten
    Harvey S. Karten
    Compuserve

    If sight gags, genital jokes, and crazy caricatures are your thing, You Don't Mess with the Zohan pulls it off better than any movie since Austin Powers.

    Full Review Source: CinemaBlend.com | comment Comment
    06/01/08
    Joshua Tyler
    Joshua Tyler
    CinemaBlend.com

    Since the comedy is co-written by three scribes, my guess would be that the bathroom humor and childish goofiness are product of Sandler and company, whereas the more sexual and raunchy elements reflect the sensibility of Judd Apatow and his factory.

    Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
    05/30/08
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com
     
     
    161 - 178 (sorted by date)
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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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