“You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” stars Adam Sandler, Emmanuelle Chriqui, John Turturro, and co-stars Nick Swardson and Rob Schneider. It’s directed by Dennis Dugan (Happy Gilmore, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry), and written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, and Judd Apatow.

An Israeli counter-terrorist who genuinely goes by The Zohan (Adam Sandler) fakes his death in order to fulfill his dream to “make the world silky smooth”. He becomes Scrappy Coco, a sex-craved hairstylist who attracts women of all age. But once his identity is discovered, he is determined not to fall back into the world of crime and destruction.

The Zohan is certainly a funny character, performing crass antics and displaying his bulging bottom-half to the elderly. These characteristics that make up the outrageous individual seem to be the funniest moments in his latest film. The aiding cast is composed of lifeless characters with unfunny lines pertaining to goats and neosporin. I think that there might have been initial awkwardness between Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler, being that this is their first time making a film together.

Adam Sandler needed a more subordinate supporting cast in this one. Every scene absent of his protuberant crotch and disco movements relied on some sort of humorous line-reading from a corroborative cast, all of which fell flat. These barren jokes don’t go as well as they were intended to and become repetitive and tired. The Zohan character is a romp and adds to Sandler’s line of “funny” characters, but one funny character can’t save the entirety of a film. Earning a very mature PG-13 rating for the outrageously crude humor, this is one that you steer your children far from and tend to a more family friendly outing.

Unlike Adam Sandler’s previous work, this one lacks even the smallest of heart. This might be the result of the collaboration of Apatow and Sandler. If so, lets hope their next attempt at synergy will be more pleasing than this one. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy myself, I was just expecting more from the SNL affiliate who created Canteen Boy and Opera Man. The accent, the antics, and the look of Zohan assist this one-schtick comedy, saving it from being the first unfunny Sandler guided film and making it an addition to the sporadically funny Sandler guided films. 2.5/5 stars

 Written by Derek Fleek at www.popcornmonsters.com

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