You Don't Mess With the Zohan Review by Jon Medina

You Don't Mess With the Zohan (2008)

Directed by Dennis Dugan

Written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel & Judd Apatow

Starring:
Adam Sandler
John Turturro
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Nick Swardson
Lanie Kazan
Ido Mosseri
Rob Schneider
Dave Matthews

The films of Adam Sandler are some of the easiest movies for me to figure out. There's not much middle ground. Especially with the comedies. They seem to be either kind of stupid, but really funny, or kind of funny, but really stupid. That's why it blows my mind when people seem baffled by his work. Maybe it's one of those cases where you either get the guy or you don't. If you count yourself as a fan, then it's probably pretty simple for you to pick your favorites, but for those who are on the fence, the consensus always seems to be confusion. Sandler didn't help matters when he started doing dramas. Now people wonder why he doesn't do more of them, where fans just admire his versatility, although we occasionally wonder how someone so talented could lay such a massive egg.

Recently, RottenTomatoes.com ranked all of Sandler's films based on critics' scores. Critics seem to be even more out of the loop than the average moviegoer. Obviously, I don't speak for everybody, but I have always found it to be overwhelmingly obvious that Mr. Deeds was Sandler's worst film to date, but RT has it listed as only the fourth worst. I also think that Little Nicky is one of his better comedies (and one of his most underrated) and it is listed at one slot higher than Deeds and ranked lower than such ultimate stinkers as Airheads and the Longest Yard. Worse than that, the Longest Yard, one of the worst remakes in recent history, is ranked higher than the Waterboy, one that most Sandler fans would rate as easily one of his best. I was also shocked that 50 First Dates was not only ranked as the 6th best Sandler film of all time, but ahead of Big Daddy, the Waterboy and Little Nicky. I can't argue with the number one choice of Punch Drunk Love, but I had a major bone to pick with a lot of the other placings. The reason I mention all this is that I found the reviews of You Don't Mess With the Zohan to be pretty rough so far. As it stands right now, it appears that it will be among the most poorly reviewed Sandler films. While I can't say this film is amazing, or one of his elite, it is easily one of his funniest in a long time, probably since Little Nicky and possibly one of his 5 funniest movies ever.

If you walk into the theater and expect a plausible plot, groundbreaking performances, a film with no holes and a smart, bulletproof script, then you've obviously never seen an Adam Sandler comedy before. If you know what you're in for, you should be pleased, because it is one of the better screenplays he's had to work with, which no doubt can be attributed to Apatow's contributions. There are certainly flat spots and scenes that are just plain dumb and unnecessary, but the movie is consistently funny and fun. My only major complaint is that it didn't have enough of those laugh out loud moments. It was funny enough throughout to save it from being utterly boring and ridiculous, but a few more "chuckle 'til it hurts" moments could have made it a clear cut Sandler classic. Regardless, I still think it comes pretty close.

I'm not going to go into the plot. It's not that significant. It's not the worst storyline I've ever seen. In fact, as it goes for Sandler comedies, it's probably one of the better ones. I can get behind the idea of an Israeli counter-terrorist wanting to move to New York to become a hairdresser. If you like that idea, then give the film a chance. If you're already a Sandler fan, the plot is inconsequential. If you're not, there's still a chance you'll like some of it, but it doesn't have that big chance to convert you like a film like Reign Over Me or Punch Drunk Love has. Most of you have probably decided whether or not you will watch the film at this point. All I can say is that I think it's pretty fucking funny. Nothing else I can say will change your mind either way.

The Sandman is good in it. He made me laugh a lot. Good belly laughs. Not 'til I had tears in my eyes like I had hoped, but the laughs were hearty enough to keep me involved. There was a bit of a lull near the end of the movie, but I never had an overwhelming feeling that I wished it was over. The rest of the performances ranged anywhere from pretty good to lackluster, but no one really stunk it up too bad. Schneider probably came closest, I hate to say.

There were a shitload (that is the technical term) of fun cameos in the movie. I don't want to ruin it too much for you, but the most surprising was probably Dave Matthews. I found him to be pretty entertaining, something he's been hard pressed to do with his music. Maybe he should switch to acting. Another favorite cameo of mine was by none other than the Facts of Life's Charlotte Rae, who, as one of Sandler's customers, got the "special treatment". Pretty damn priceless. I will never see Mrs. Garrett in the same light again.

So in conclusion, you get what you ask for when you walk into this kind of movie. It's dumb, silly and rather pointless, especially for a film that wants so badly to be political, but it's also rewarding in little ways and as far as I'm concerned, his funniest movie in 8 years. If you're looking for something else, more power to you. But if you need a light, throwaway flick to kill a couple hours of reality, you'll more than likely be mightily pleased.

Score: 3.25 out of 5