by Ginger Voight

Created on: July 09, 2008   Last Updated: March 28, 2010

Many years ago I went against my better judgment and bought a ticket to my first Adam Sandler movie, "Big Daddy". There were plenty of reasons for me to avoid this flick; juvenile humor, a less than sympathetic lead character and an outlandish plot - but somehow, much to my surprise, I was won over.

So won over, in fact, I would watch many other Adam Sandler movies afterwards. I would even love a few.

Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am.

Over these many years I was lulled into this sense of security that while Adam gravitated towards more base comedy I didn't really appreciate, his characters were always saved by his sensitivity toward the story he was trying to tell - which I definitely could appreciate. No matter how distasteful the character, Adam could always be counted upon for an "arc". He became a filmmaker I could actually *trust*.

So what, I continued to ask myself, had I been so adverse to?

"You Don't Mess With the Zohan" answers that question. Soundly.

YDMWTZ is the story of an Israeli special forces soldier who abandons his legendary military career fighting Palestinian terrorists to follow a more heart felt dream.

He wants to be a hair dresser.

His ambition is not to use his unique skills to make the world a better place; it's to make the world "silky smooth". And in a Palestinian hair salon run by beautiful Dalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui), he gets the opportunity to do just that.

Unfortunately for Zohan, now known as "Scrappy Coco", his prowess wooing women and cutting hair draw the attention of a group of Palestinians who believe they can finally find glory in killing the Zohan themselves.

It would be one of many subplots in a muddled mess of a story that never quite knows what point it's trying to make.

In what could arguably be Sandler's weakest movie to date (sharing or perhaps surpassing the dubious honor once held by "Little Nicky"), there was no discernable plot to speak of; instead it felt quite episodic as it hopped around from ridiculous - supposedly funny - situation to even more ridiculous and even less funny situation.

Zohan is such a caricature that he lacked the emotional attachment of some of Sandler's other characters. Instead of being a hero we could root for, Zohan instead is a walking, talking stereotype. As Adam tests the limit of what his audience will tolerate - almost purposefully it seems - he ignores what has made all his earlier movies so successful. No matter how silly, it was the likability and decency of his lead characters that kept things grounded.

But worse than all of these, YDMWTZ commits the worst possible crime possible any comedy can commit.

It was just simply not funny.

Add it all together and you could say that "Zohan" is a misfire, but you'd be putting it mildly.

As my best friend says, don't mess with "You Don't Mess With the Zohan".

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