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Dancing_P [ 6.0 ]
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This is pretty much the worst idea ever; even as a reluctant Sandler fan, I can't really get behind a live-action cartoon about the Israel-Palestine conflict that features a Borat-styled hairdresser/super-spy protagonist. Despite my best efforts to avoid this piece of all-signs-point-to shit, I cracked and... well, hey. This isn't completely horrible. It's not any more broad or any less offensive than Sandler usual shtick except that for once he seems to be consciously playing it vaudeville-broad. It's a cartoon ofa film, kind of like a cut-rate Stephen Chow film with unfortunate political ties.
Sandler is Zohan, the Mossad's deadliest killer. After a bout with his biggest enemy (John Turturro), he retires to America where he plans to cut and style hair (as well as bone a bunch of old ladies). He's not the only dangerous ex-pat in New York, however, and he soon finds himself in the same hot water as back home.
From this pretty serious and touchy subject comes a film stripped with all pretensions of social commentary. It would be offensive if everyone wasn't painted with the same ridiculous brush; while its political views are questionable and borderline socially irresponsible, it would take a hell of a stick up the ass to get worked up about it. It takes inspirated from Tex Avery more than Munich; it's crass and stupid, sure, but it wholly embraces it. It helps that the script was co-authored by Judd Apatow and Robert 'Triumph' Smiegel. While they're certainly aiming much lower than their usual work, they can still write a testicle joke like nobody's business. It's sloppy, it's crude and it's ridiculous but for once it appears a decent effort has been made to make it so, rather than just happening by default.
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DokBrowne [ 7.0 ]
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Agreeably bonkers kitchen sink-style comedy, an extreme upswing in Adam Sandler's recent losing streak of nightmarishly bad flicks ("Click", "Chuck and Larry"). It's amazing that this is one of his alternating "doing a wacky voice" roles (as opposed to his other acting mode of being Mr. Regular Guy surrounded by crazies) yet it actually works because the character isn't annoying (in fact he's a lovable superhero), the voice is somewhat charming (albeit suspiciously French-sounding instead of Israeli), and instead of being the butt of jokes because he's a dumbass, he's the purveyor of them because he's a badass. That's a crucial change, I think. Because he earns our respect (yes in a cartoony way, but still), you're laughing with him, even when he does foolish things. And the ultra-zany approach (thanks primarily, I presume, to co-writers Robert Smigel and Judd Apatow, although probably more-so Smigel) offers way more laughs than the typically sluggish Sandler vehicles tend to muster. Even his often-obnoxious co-star BFFs Rob Schneider, John Turturro, and Nick Swardson look better in this light, although none of them are really that funny; for once Adam Sandler is the cast highlight of his own film. Also something about the all-inclusive spirit espoused by the screenplay through Zohan's generous personality (an amplification of Sandler's usual good-natured self, which is frequently buried/misunderstood under his fondness for insult-based humor) yields positive vibes, so even when the hilarity starts to dry up in the 3rd act, there's enough generated joviality to sustain the picture (highlighted at the tail end of one scene that feels like an outtake, when Zohan and a bunch of friends just playfully tackle one another for an extra 20 seconds).
Of course this is all relative - there are still some nasty jokes, some mean-spirited ones, Mariah Carey stunt casting takes us into vanity project-ish Mike Myers territory, the ending is a bit limp, and the evil land developer plot conflict is straight out of an '80s kids movie. But who cares, the fact that this is at all funny, likable, or slightly memorable elevates it towards the top of the Sandler heap. Let us give thanks.
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| Weighted Rating | : 6.6 |
| No. Ratings | : 3 | |
| No. Reviews | : 3 | |
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