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You Don't Mess with the Zohan
Sometimes an unlimited budget in the hands of certain actors can be a dangerous thing, evidenced by 2008's You Don't Mess with the Zohan, an elaborately overblown comic adventure that blends spectacular scenery, cheesy special effects, a questionably PC story, and over-the-top performances to provide, in terms of pure entertainment, a mixed bag to be sure.
Adam Sandler plays the title character who is an Israeli Special Forces soldier with nature-defying physical abilities who decides to take the opportunity provided by assassinating a terrorist known as the Phantom (John Turturro) to fake his death so he can give up being a soldier and move to New York city and fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a hairdresser.
The Adam Sandler rep company have never been big on bringing realism to the screen but they've taken it to a whole new level here, manifested through a complex screenplay by Sandler and Robert Smigel, a longtime SNL writer who appears onscreen as a stereo store employee that presents an offensive and outrageous story that like some of Mel Brooks' finest work, offers something to offend everyone and I promise you that before the closing credits, most viewers will find something in this film offensive.
Don't get me wrong...there are laughs provided here, but the laughs really don't have a lot to do with the confusing story being mounted here. The sporadic laughs the film provides are self-contained and don't have a lot to do with the story. The majority of the laughs come through the cheesy special effects making Zohan appear to do things beyond human ability and the occasional breaking of the 4th wall, not to mention cashing in on the rich entertainment history behind its cast which allows the viewer to roll with a lot of stupid stuff that goes on here.
Longtime Sandler director Dennis Dugan does manage to provide a semblance of structure to the story but it's just too complex and way too long. Sandler works hard as Zohan, even if we don't believe for a minute that he's Israeli and Turturro is very funny as the Phantom. Rob Schneider, looking a lot more Middle Eastern than Sandler, offers one of his funniest performances as a New York cabbie who has a past with Zohan and leading lady Emmanuelle Chriqui is absolutely breathtaking. There are also cameos from Kevin Nealon, Steve Buscemi, and Mariah Carey. Parts are better than the whole, but Sandler fans won't be disappointed.
Sometimes an unlimited budget in the hands of certain actors can be a dangerous thing, evidenced by 2008's You Don't Mess with the Zohan, an elaborately overblown comic adventure that blends spectacular scenery, cheesy special effects, a questionably PC story, and over-the-top performances to provide, in terms of pure entertainment, a mixed bag to be sure.
Adam Sandler plays the title character who is an Israeli Special Forces soldier with nature-defying physical abilities who decides to take the opportunity provided by assassinating a terrorist known as the Phantom (John Turturro) to fake his death so he can give up being a soldier and move to New York city and fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a hairdresser.
The Adam Sandler rep company have never been big on bringing realism to the screen but they've taken it to a whole new level here, manifested through a complex screenplay by Sandler and Robert Smigel, a longtime SNL writer who appears onscreen as a stereo store employee that presents an offensive and outrageous story that like some of Mel Brooks' finest work, offers something to offend everyone and I promise you that before the closing credits, most viewers will find something in this film offensive.
Don't get me wrong...there are laughs provided here, but the laughs really don't have a lot to do with the confusing story being mounted here. The sporadic laughs the film provides are self-contained and don't have a lot to do with the story. The majority of the laughs come through the cheesy special effects making Zohan appear to do things beyond human ability and the occasional breaking of the 4th wall, not to mention cashing in on the rich entertainment history behind its cast which allows the viewer to roll with a lot of stupid stuff that goes on here.
Longtime Sandler director Dennis Dugan does manage to provide a semblance of structure to the story but it's just too complex and way too long. Sandler works hard as Zohan, even if we don't believe for a minute that he's Israeli and Turturro is very funny as the Phantom. Rob Schneider, looking a lot more Middle Eastern than Sandler, offers one of his funniest performances as a New York cabbie who has a past with Zohan and leading lady Emmanuelle Chriqui is absolutely breathtaking. There are also cameos from Kevin Nealon, Steve Buscemi, and Mariah Carey. Parts are better than the whole, but Sandler fans won't be disappointed.