You Don’t Mess with the Zohan

Jeri Jacquin, Movie Maven

Opening this Friday is Adam Sandler and the Happy Madison production of “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”.

Zohan (Adam Sandler), an Israeli commando, is a beloved hero in his country. While on vacation he is called back to military duty to hunt down his countries number one enemy The Phantom (John Turturro).

But the Zohan has a dream of his own during a battle with Phantom, fakes his own death so he can escape to American to become a hair stylist at the famous Paul Mitchell salon. Upon arrival Zohan changes his name to Scrappy Coco, thanks to his airplane mates, so no one will recognize him.

He befriends Michael (Nick Swardson), and his Mom Gail (Lainie Kazan) as they help Zohan find his dream. While working at a salon Zohan also begins to have feelings for Dalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui) who has a secret of her own.

Eventually, he is discovered by the angry taxi driver Salim (Rob Schneider) who is determined to expose the Zohan, with the help of The Phantom.

Will the Zohan save our world once again? Will the Zohan find love? Will the Zohan ever fulfill his dream to cut hair at the Paul Mitchell salon? These questions and all the laugh filled answers are coming to a theatre near you!

FINAL WORD: Sandler is in a world all his own on this one. The humor is funny and, at the same time, a tiny step beyond offending so many. Seeing himself as a super hero of sorts is what makes the audience laugh the hardest.

Schneider and the rest of the crew have their moments as well. But, sometimes the humor gets lost in slow moments until another second brings you right back to laughter. The film wastes no time in calling out the silliness of people and constantly crack jokes at the conflicts abroad.

There are plenty of cameos with Dave Matthews, Charlotte Rae – Mrs. Garrison from ‘Facts of Life’, Kevin Nealon, Mariah Carey, Chris Rock, John MacEnroe, and Kevin James to name a few. It seemed as if everyone wanted a piece of the laughs.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” three tubs of popcorn out of five. If Sandler’s comedy runs through your veins then this is a must-see for fans. It is pure wacky-silliness if anything else which is what made the man famous in the first place.

I predict the phrase “don’t mess with the Zohan” will be catchy this summer! “Lather. Rinse. Save the world” lives in the heart of the Zohan!