You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Dennis Dugan

Writers (WGA):

Adam Sandler (written by) &
Robert Smigel (written by) ...

Release Date:

6 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

Lather. Rinse. Save the world.

Plot:

An Israeli Special Forces Soldier fakes his death so he can re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist.

Plot Keywords:

Parkour | Beach | Brother | Sex | Sister

Awards:

1 nomination

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Adam Sandler	...	Zohan Dvir
John Turturro	...	The Phantom
Emmanuelle Chriqui	...	Dalia
Nick Swardson	...	Michael
Lainie Kazan	...	Gail
Ido Mosseri	...	Oori
Rob Schneider	...	Salim
Dave Matthews	...	James
Michael Buffer	...	Walbridge
Charlotte Rae	...	Mrs. Greenhouse
Sayed Badreya	...	Hamdi
Daoud Heidami	...	Nasi
Kevin Nealon	...	Kevin
Robert Smigel	...	Yosi
Dina Doron	...	Zohan's Mother (as Dina Doronne)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, language and nudity.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44058) | Ireland:15A | UK:12A | Sweden:11 | Finland:K-13 | Canada:14A (Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIB | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:11 | Argentina:16 | India:A (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Happy Madison Productions

Trivia:

Adam Sandler's daughter, Sadie, and wife, Jackie, make an appearance at the end of the movie. His daughter is seen taking a "Goat Ride", while his wife holds onto her.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Zohan is cutting hair for the first time, the hair goes in and out of the sink between shots.

Quotes:

Zohan: I just want to make people silky-smooth!

Movie Connections:

References Jaws (1975)

Soundtrack:

Pump Up The Jam

Parts very funny, unfortunately misunderstood

I always have hated Adam Sandler movies although I found this one and Deuce Bigalow rather amusing at times. Part of the problem in "getting" the humor is that movies like "Zohan" and Deuce Bigalow in Amsterdam requires you to have a better than average understanding of the culture it is mocking. If you've ever spent any significant time in Amsterdam you'd find the Deuce flick much funnier as the silly satire it is. Same goes for Zohan - it's 10 times funnier if you've been to Israel at least once and even funnier if you understand Hebrew. You must live in New York and have lived through the 80s to really get all the jokes. This is a total "turn off your brain" movie and has a lot of physical comedy, including some "political thoughts" that, in the end, we're all just people. For those who weren't happy with the obvious, predictable ending, the movie wasn't meant to ruffle feathers. Oddly enough, even my friend who hasn't had any background for this movie thought it was a simple, funny movie. Your call but keep an open mind and don't listen to all the critics here. The fact that the Hulk could be an 8.0 says all you need to know about the ridiculous critics here. Go and enjoy.