DVDpendence . videophile
YOU
DON’T
MESS
WITH
THE
ZOHAN
With
Adam
Sandler,
John
Turturro,
Emmanuelle
Chriqui,
Rob
Schneider,
Nick
Swardson,
Lainie
Kazan,
Ido
Mosseri
Written
by Adam
Sandler,
Robert
Smigel,
Judd
Apatow
Directed
by Dennis
Dugan
On popping
this
in the
DVD
player,
the
expectations
were
far
below
average.
But,
as the
ludicrous
politically
incorrect
tale
and
ridiculous
humour,
action
and
crudeness
unfolded,
I have
to admit,
I laughed.
This
is so
up Sandler’s
alley
it’s
silly.
Zohan
is an
Israeli
military
hotshot
who
can
sort
out
a terrorist
faction
single
handedly
and
unarmed.
To top
it all
he’s
a total
ladies
man
and
hero
to all.
All
of this
is however
depicted
in an
absolutely
exaggerated
Israeli
fashion.
Tired
of the
fighting,
when
Zohan
comes
up against
his
arch-nemesis
The
Phantom,
he fakes
his
own
death
and
takes
off
for
New
York,
where
he plans
to fulfill
his
dream
of becoming…a
hairdresser!
He doesn’t
however
slide
into
fame
and
fortune,
but
like
other
Palestinian
and
Israeli
immigrants
who
drive
cabs
and
run
bargain
electronics
stores,
he has
to start
at the
bottom.
Pretending
(unconvincingly)
to be
Australian,
he gets
a job
at a
Palestinian
salon
where
he proves
his
skills
and
rises
to becoming
a hit
with
the
female
clientele
(who
get
more
than
just
their
hair
done).
The
neighbourhood
is being
developed
by a
ruthless
corporate
entity
headed
by Walbridge
(played
by the
legendary
boxing
announcer
Michael
Buffer!).
But,
Zohan’s
fight
with
The
Phantom
is far
from
over.
I’m
sure
many
Israeli,
Palestinian,
Jewish
and
Muslim
viewers
will
find
it hilarious,
as so
many
of the
traits
and
characteristics
are
poked
fun
at (often
to extreme
degrees)
- while
a large
part
will
find
it grossly
offensive.
Those
not
falling
in any
of those
categories
will
have
a laugh
(and
maybe
feel
a bit
guilty
doing
so).
Ironically
within
the
week
of watching
this,
Israel
and
Hamas
broke
their
ceasefire
in the
Gaza
Strip…
Several
cameos
include
Dave
Matthews,
Chris
Rock,
Kevin
James,
Henry
Winkler,
Mariah
Carey,
John
McEnroe,
George
Takei,
Dennis
Dugan,
and
Bruce
Vilanch.
The
unrated
extended
version
often
goes
overboard
and
I’m
quite
surprised
it only
received
a 13
age
restriction
in South
Africa.
It also
contains
a commentary
track
with
a lot
of expected
jacking
off
as Sandler,
co-writer
Smigel
and
some
of the
cast
expose
more
details
of the
production
and
how
many
of the
jokes
came
about
(from
a firsthand
Jewish
and
Israeli
perspective).
Several
deleted
scenes
and
a range
of featurettes
further
makes
this
quite
a loaded
single
disc.
3
/ B
- Paul
Blom
1 2
3
4 5
6
A
- B
- C