Shawn's You Don't Mess with the Zohan Review

2008 Movie #62 - You Don't Mess with the Zohan

So to start off, I like Adam Sandler and I mostly enjoy his movies, especially his earlier work with my 2 favourties being Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer. However I still have a soft spot for movies such as Mr. Deeds, Big Daddy, etc. I also really like his more dramatic work such as Reign Over Me and Punch Drunk Love. However his last two films (Click and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry) just didn't do it for me. Both tried way too hard to have a message and Click especially devolved into the dramatic material a bit too much. Thankfully Sandler has returned to more wacky comedies with this one.

It's still not a hilarious movie but it's funny and hopefully a sign of things to come with future Sandler comedies. I liked that with this one they went completely out there and didn't ground this movie in reality in the slightest. I felt some of the funniest parts of the movie were whenever the Zohan was fighting or just doing some outlandish shit. Comedies that attempt this are rare it seems now a days (unless they are a terrible spoof movie of course) so it's nice to see one that's almost cartoonish in quality but somehow never crosses a line into being too ridiculous.

The cast in this one is great. Adam Sandler is very funny in the main role and he is surrounded by a great supporting cast including John Turturro, and a shit ton of funny cameos that I don't really want to give away here. The movie did try and have a message somewhat but it never took away from the movie like it tended to do with Sandler's last couple of movies. They deliver the message while at the same time keeping the comedy alive.

Also I have no idea how some people could be offended by this movie but I have talked with some people who were. Once you see Sandler beat a bull in a tug of war contest, you have to know this is a movie you can't at all take seriously.

In conclusion, it's certainly not the funniest movie of the year (an award I still hope to pass on to a newer movie, *looks at Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder*) but it's entertaining, although I did feel that it went on a little bit too long. Sandler fans should enjoy it, especially ones who felt his last few pictures weren't up to far. Sandler haters....well fuck you I guess.

***/5