Although Zohan Dvir (Adam Sandler) is the best counter-terrorism commando in the Israeli army, he dreams of the day when he will be free to immigrate to America to open his own beauty salon. But such a move would definitely disappoint his family who see hairdressing as a gay profession.
Nonetheless, Zohan's patience runs out when he is asked to track down The Phantom (John Turturro), a paroled Palestinian terrorist he'd already captured once previously. Seeing no end in sight to the never-ending Arab-Israeli conflict, Zohan fakes his own death and resurfaces in New York City as the flamboyant Scrappy Coco.
Willing to work his way up, Scrappy takes a position sweeping the floor at a fledgling beauty parlor owned by a Palestinian (Emmanuelle Chriqui) who has no idea that her new employee is an AWOL Mossad agent. Meanwhile, Zohan is equally unaware that his gorgeous boss' brother, Fat-tush, is none other than his militant Muslim nemesis, The Phantom.
So, it's only a matter of time before the truth is revealed and everything comes to a head in a big showdown. In the interim, Scrappy takes advantage of any opportunity to leave his mark on Manhattan by behaving in the sort of sophomoric fashion we've come to expect of an Adam Sandler.
Directed by Dennis Dugan (Happy Gilmore), You Don't Mess with the Zohan is a throwback to the sort of crude fare which made Sandler famous, including generous helpings of homophobia, misogyny, animal cruelty, bodily function slapstick and ethnic stereotyping. This bawdy insult to the intelligence is likely to resonate only with his rabid fans nostalgic for flashes of that locker room brand of humor.
Tasteless, a last minute appeal to tolerance notwithstanding.
Fair (1 star)
Rated PG-13 for nudity, profanity, graphic sexuality and crude humor.
Running time: 117 minutes
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
2-Disc DVD Features: Commentary with Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, Rob Schneider and Nick Swardson, commentary with Dennis Dugan, deleted scenes, and ten featurettes.
To see a trailer of You Don't Mess with the Zohan,
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