PG-13???? See it to believe it.By John DeSando, WCBE's It's Movie Time
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
Grade: C
Director: Dennis Dugan (I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry)
Screenplay: Adam Sandler (The Waterboy), Judd Apatow (Knocked Up)
Cast: Adam Sandler (Click), John Turturro (Margot at the Wedding)
Rating: PG-13
"It's gonna sound a little crazy." Zohan (Adam Sandler)
I hold no hope for Arab/Israeli peace if it hangs on the success of Adam Sandler's You Don't Mess with the Zohan. It's a mess of a socio-political satire with inaudible accents, bathroom humor, and tastelessness. The humorous moments are few, unlike its precursor, Sasha Baron Cohen's Borat, which pretty much had regular laughs, albeit some just as low.
Sandler's Zohan is a Mossad agent who flees the chaotic Mideast for chaotic New York City. He's not your garden variety Bond or Bourne: He has super powers that make him impervious to harm and Olympian in the bedroom. The comic hook is Zohan's wish to be a hair stylist in America, a dream he gets to fulfill in NYC becoming a hairdresser in a Palestinian salon.
Although there are some funny bits, as when three Israeli's answer their hotline commenting that they'll be back to the caller as soon as the current peace talks break down, mainly the audience is subjected to shots of Sandler's enhanced package beneath his jeans and foolish Palestinian nationals bumbling to get Zohan. The kindly satire of Sandler's own Jews and mid-easterners in general is stereotyped but lacking the invention of Borat's Ali G.
Although John Turturro's Palestinian superman, Phantom, provides a laugh or two, I couldn't stop feeling sad that such a talent dusts it up in such a lowbrow caper. As for Mariah Carey indulging in some bust-busting self parody, I liked it and wanted more (not more of her?there's ample on display?just more of the parody).
Although I appreciated writers Sandler and Apatow dealing with contemporary issues such as greedy landlords and the Arab/Israeli conflict, the humor is not low enough, despite the scatological moments, nor is it witty enough to carry the audience over the clich?d moments.
Read the international reports in the New York Times: They're more laughable but much scarier.
John DeSando teaches film at Franklin University and co-hosts WCBE 90.5's It's Movie Time, which can be heard streaming at www.wcbe.org Fridays at 3:01 pm and 8:01 pm and on demand anytime. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.RR.com