 | STARRING: Adam Sandler |
As far as I’m concerned, Adam Sandler has only made one funny movie, Waterboy, and one good serious film, Reign Over Me. I do not see what people love about him to make them rush out to see crap like I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. His latest film, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, is more of the same silliness people have come to expect from a Sandler comedy.
Zohan (Sandler) is some kind of super anti-terrorist agent in Israel, screwing as many women as possible on his off days, and killing terrorist with ease when called upon. Zohan secretly dreams of coming to America to be a Paul Mitchell hair stylist. Zohan fakes his own death while fighting his arch nemesis The Phantom. He moves to NYC, where he quickly finds out that his old fashioned hair styles will not get him hired by Paul Mitchell. He is forced to take a job sweeping hair at a small salon in an Israeli/Palestinian neighborhood. He eventually gets a promotion to hair stylist, where he becomes popular with the older women by first styling their hair, and then taking them to the back room to earn his tip. His "unique" methods have old women lined up around the block waiting for an appointment. Zohan is soon recognized by a cab driver (Rob Schneider) who wants to become famous by taking out the great Zohan. Of course, the cab driver botches every assassination attempt. Eventually, the Phantom is called to America to finish off Zohan in a final showdown
The film is full of Israeli/Jewish jokes and stereotypes, many of which I just don’t understand. There is a running gag about Hummus that made no sense to me. I guess Jewish people eat a lot of hummus? The laughs were few and far between for me. Don't Mess With Zohan is funny when Zohan is styling hair and servicing his clients, but bored me otherwise. The story is completely predictable, with an overall moral that Israelis and Palestinians can live and work together in harmony. Do we really need an Adam Sandler comedy to tell us that? If you like Adam Sandler’s previous work, you will probably enjoy Zohan as well. The crowd at the screening seemed to enjoy it. He probably has another $100 million hit on his hands, but I’m glad I didn’t have to pay to see it. Wait for cable.
1 comment:
Adam Sandler is classic in his own way, though he tends to do his best work when he stays casual, not trying too hard to be funny or deep, etc.
Post a Comment