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"You Don't Mess With the Zohan"
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui
Directed by: Dennis Dugan
Runtime: 113 minutes
Adam Sandler has spent the last few years trying to build up goodwill with adult audiences by showcasing his more serious and family-oriented side, straying from the lowbrow comedy that made him famous.
But Sandler's back in classic style with "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," a comedy that fits well within the Gilmore/Madison canon.
It's full of bare asses, crotch jokes and various other forms of locker room humor.
Sandler plays Zohan, an Israeli Mossad agent who fakes his own death so he can escape to America and realize his dream of styling hair at the Paul Mitchell Hair Salon.
Zohan arrives in America and struggles to find work after discovering his 1976 Paul Mitchell stylebook is a bit outdated. He eventually winds up in a salon owned by the beautiful Dalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui). Dalia is a Palestinian woman, which keeps Zohan from realizing his true feelings for her.
Zohan (or "Scrappy Coco," a name he took from the dogs with whom he shared his flight to America) quickly rises to become the talk of the hairstyling world, chiefly because of his penchant for sexually satisfying his (mostly senior citizen) clientele after each appointment. This gag grows old after the 52nd time.
When "Coco "is recognized by a Palestinian cabbie, played by Rob Schneider (why is he still working?), arch-nemesis and Palestinian terrorist "The Phantom" (John Turturro) is notified and immediately makes his way to America to kill Zohan for real this time.
The third act involves a shady developer looking to tear down Zohan's salon and replace it with a mega-mall. Zohan and the Phantom inevitably have to work together in an ending of Israeli/Palestinian brotherhood that any viewer could see coming for miles.
The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is the secondary plot in the film, but ultimately creates more humor than Zohan's antics in the salon. Sadly, the sight gags and physical humor make up the laughs for two-thirds of the film.
"Zohan" had a lot going for it, as the writing team behind the film included former SNL scribe Robert Smigel, Hollywood comedy king Judd Apatow and Sandler himself.
You would think the first two members of that writing team would create comedic gold, but the resulting film is more like comedic bronze. Wait for two years and catch it on TBS.
Luke McCormick can be reached at lmccorm2@siu.edu or 536-3311 ext. 275
