What Do The Critics Say?

"Essentially, You Don't Mess With the Zohan isn't all that different in tone and sensibility from Sandler's previous films, but he's really trying in this one, and the effort pays off." Rene Rodriguez MIAMI HERALD "If "Munich" is the disease, the Zohan is the cure. Some hard little grains of truth make this Sandler's funniest movie since The Waterboy." Kyle Smith KYLESMITHONLINE "Director Dennis Dugan knows his way around shin-whacking slapstick, and Sandler is mesmerizing. In You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, Adam Sandler is a babe magnet with the stamina to satisfy harems of hot chicks and the bounteousness to bestow his sexual favors on septuagenarians, too." David Edelstein NEW YORK MAGAZINE "There are still plenty of very funny moments and Zohan is one of Sandler's more enjoyable characters. My inner frat boy always gets a kick out of Adam Sandler, even when his comedies are hit and miss." Sean McBride SEAN THE MOVIE GUY "Tries for a message of social relevance with a nod to America as the land of multicultural coexistence, but its real value is in air-fluffing our cares away for a couple of hours." Colin Covert MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE "Zohan is presented as a reluctant Rambo. Things work out, of course, to everyone's satisfaction: there are a few political gags that have a veneer of audacity, but in essence, the movie takes risks only with its audience's gag reflex." Philippa Hawker THE AGE "Though a bunch of the jokes are milked too thin, there are some absurdly goofy sight gags, and a lineup of fun, silly cameos by guests from Chris Rock to Mariah Carey." Andrea Gronvall CHICAGO READER

"He may play the fool, but Sandler is far from one. He reunites with Dennis Dugan, his "Happy Gilmore" director, and puts on a thick Middle Eastern accent to portray a cross between Chuck Norris and Borat, if they were Jewish, that is. "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" is a zany, over-the-top comedy on steroids most of the time. Sandler can still do it when it comes to silly." Larry Ratliff EXPRESS-NEWS FILM CRITIC "When it's funny, it's very, very funny, but when it's bad, it's downright awful." Matt Brunson CREATIVE LOAFING "The best Mossad agent turned hair stylist movie ever made. Zohan is Sandler's best character in a decade, since Happy Gilmore. Seriously, it's actually really good and fun." Fred Topel CAN MAGAZINE "Some of the comedy is inspired and some of it is downright retarded. Amid the silliness, the boorishness and the vulgarity is a certain warmness and sweetness." Robert Roten LARAMIE MOVIE SCOPE "You Don't Mess With the Zohan is as messy as comedies come. Much of it, though, is an inspired, hilarious mess." Joe Morgenstern WALL STREET JOURNAL "There's just enough chutzpah to Zohan to keep it amusing and sporadically uproarious." Brian Orndorf BRIANORNDORF "One of the best stupid-funny race-driven romantic comedies starring hairy horny men featuring celebrity cameos in years. Certainly the funniest about the Mideast conflict. You know, I thought it was pretty good. I’d call it Sandler’s best straight comedy in years." Gina Carbone SEACOAST NEWSPAPERS

The Inside Story The idea for 'Zohan', a kick-ass Israeli soldier who gives up the counter-terrorism game in order to pursue his dream of being a hairdresser, first came to Adam Sandler many years ago, and he immediately saw the best way to develop the character into a screenplay. He would work with two good friends: his fellow "Saturday Night Live" alumnus (and original head writer for Conan O’Brien and creator of "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" and "TV Funhouse") Robert Smigel, and his onetime roommate (and now comedy heavyweight) Judd Apatow. "You Don’t Mess with the Zohan" represents familiar ground for the writers. "My interest in writing about Israelis started at Saturday Night Live," says Smigel. "Oddly enough, the very first sketch that Adam was ever in was 'The Sabra Shopping Network', a sketch I wrote about Israelis." "You Don’t Mess with the Zohan" also represents a return to Sandler’s roots: playing an outlandish, wild, broadly drawn character, as he did both on "Saturday Night Live" and early in his film career. "Adam’s audience has gotten used to seeing him play characters closer to himself," adds Smigel. "But even though Zohan can do no-arm pushups, he’s still goofy and vulnerable like Adam." Though the film's basis is one of the most vexing problems on the world stage, the filmmakers’ primary goal was to bring the comedy. Still, Rob Schneider, a near and dear member of the Happy Madison family who joins the cast as Salim, a Palestinian cab driver, says that it’s possible that comedy is the only way to approach an unapproachable problem. "Comedy brings people together," he says. "The Zohan is ridiculous: so ridiculous that, I hope, everybody takes a step back and laughs together." Melding the serious and the ridiculous is director Dennis Dugan ("Happy Gilmore", "Big Daddy", and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" & "The Benchwarmers"). "My job is to tee up the ball so that Sandler can smack it," Dugan says. "We have a similar sensibility. I try to get his vision for the film and I work with all the departments to figure out the best way to facilitate it. Now that we’ve done five movies together, I know what he wants; it’s easier to know than to try to predict." "When I was twelve, I didn’t have half as much energy as Dennis Dugan has now," Smigel says. "He’s unbelievable. He shared a secret with me that it’s deliberate; he knows that if he drags, everyone else will drag, too. He’s got to set the example. Plus, he made me laugh every day on the set. It doesn’t pay as well, but I’d like to see him emcee at a comedy club." When Adam Sandler decided to take on the role of the Zohan, he committed himself to the role. "“Sandler worked very, very, very hard. He worked out with a Navy SEAL for four months," says Smigel. "Lifting weights, running miles, doing sit-ups, no snacks. I’ve never seen him happier." Sandler also worked on his Israeli accent. He had help from the script supervisor Ronit Ravich-Boss ("Superbad", "Girl, Interrupted" & "Teaching Mrs Tingle"), who hails from Israel. "Sometimes, Adam would ask Ronit if she knew the Hebrew word for something," Dugan said. "If it was a word that sounded funny to us, Adam would use it." Another Sandler adviser was Eytan Ben-David, who, in life imitates art fashion, is a former Israeli army soldier who now works in a hair salon in Los Angeles. Ben-David met with Sandler and gave him tips on how a hairdresser acts, how to hold the scissors, and hairdresser lingo. That said, bringing 'The Zohan' to life wasn’t all hairspray and conditioner. Sandler also got into fantastic shape to play the counter-terrorism agent. Sandler's other key adviser was Screen Actors Guild Award winning stunt coordinator for "The Bourne Ultimatum", Scott Rogers (Spider-Man 2 and 3", "Sky High" & "Die Hard 4.0"). Rob Schneider, who has been a loyal part of Sandler’s films from the very beginning, notes, "Adam really did his research, but he found something that was very approachable. I don’t think anybody in the world could have played this part except Adam Sandler. There’s a real joy to his performance, you get to see him having the time of his life." John Turturro ("Mr Deeds", "Anger Management" & "Transformers") was cast as the 'Phantom'. "Phantom is Zohan’s antagonist. He calls me a terrorist, but he sees himself as the freedom fighter for the Arabic side against Zohan and the Israeli side," the two time Cannes Film Festival Award winner (Best Actor 1991 & Golden Camera 1992) Turturro explained. Turturro, who many will remember for his role as John Shooter in "Secret Window" has no qualms about working with Sandler. "I’m always happy to have the opportunity to work with Adam and the Happy Madison guys. Adam goes out of his way to make sure everybody is happy and that the set is a good place to work. Plus, it’s nice to cut loose and have some fun." To research his role and work on his accent, Turturro called on a friend from the hit series "Monk". "I’ve had a chance to read up and I’ve had a couple of the Arab actors help me with the accent. I have a good friend, Tony Shalhoub, whose family is from Lebanon." "If you’re working with John Turturro, you have to be on your game," says Schneider (Prince Habeeboo in "Click"). "He’s very unpredictable, a good physical comedian, and a marvelous actor: in fact, he’s one of the few guys who are good at both dramatic acting and comedy acting." Emmanuelle Chriqui ("After Sex", "Waiting" & "Wrong Turn") who claims French and Moroccan heritage, says that she looked to the influence of her mother when it came to playing Dalia. "My mother was a very fiery, unbelievable Moroccan woman, so I tapped into that energy to play a strong Palestinian woman. Even though Morocco’s in North Africa, the customs are very similar to those throughout the Arab world." So how did she handle being the one woman among the boy's club on the set of Zohan? "It’s a recurring theme in my life to be the one girl among a lot of guys," she offered. "But when the guys are as funny as Sandler, it’s not so bad." And was there any wardrobe problems? "At first, we considered a very ethnic look for Dalia," Chriqui recalled, "dripping in gold and scarves, that kind of thing. But as we got into it, we realized that Dalia’s got a ton of energy: she’s edgy, she’s funky, and she’s strong." Rob Schneider was cast as Palestinian cab driver, Salim. "I play Salim, a Palestinian cab driver who came to New York to fulfill his dreams," Schneider ("Judge Dredd", "The Animal" & "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo") explained. "He has some residual bitterness; he’s harbored a grudge ever since, as a young man, a goat that he was very fond of was taken from him by Zohan. That stuck with him, so when he sees Zohan in New York, he’s shocked by it and plans his revenge." And is it true his character is multi-skilled? "He’s not just a cabdriver. He’s also a Spiegel catalog salesman. Salim’s got about three jobs going simultaneously. He’s taking fares and making sales on the cell phone while he drives." Schneider adds, "I was very flattered that Robert Smigel wrote this part for me." And how did he handle the accent? "I talked with Dr. Salame, a Palestinian physician in Milwaukee. Dr. Salame was nice enough to help me out and put all my lines on tape; and then he did it all in Arabic too." And on working with Sandler? "Adam likes to adlib. So I had all my lines completely down, with the accent," Schneider said. "I’ve got it on paper, spelled out phonetically; and then Adam starts to adlib and I’m like, 'Ohhhh'. Fortunately, we had Palestinian actors on the set. I would go up to Ahmed Ahmed and ask him, 'How would you say this?' Between him, Daoud, and Sayed, we were like the Arabic Bowery Boys. It was a lot of fun." Daoud Heidami, one of the Palestinian actors who worked closely with Schneider, says, "I grew up watching Rob, so when I found out I was going to have the opportunity to work with him, I was really excited. It was exciting to watch and work with him. He’s helpful and encouraging in a lot of ways; he always has such a great energy that it’s really easy to work off of him." "One key to bringing "You Don’t Mess with the Zohan" to the screen was to hire the best and funniest actors from Israel and the Arab world to bring to life the supporting roles. "We have an entire squad of people; not just the usual suspects from Happy Madison," says director Dugan. "We went from Israel to Palestine to New York to Anaheim, all over Los Angeles, to find people from the Middle East, Israelis and Arabs alike, to be in the movie. I think we read every SAG and non-SAG acting aspirant for this movie. With one hundred and seventy five roles in the movie, we had to do that." The film also features a host of hilarious cameos from friends old and new. Dave Matthews (of his eponymous band) and Kevin James reunite with Sandler after taking on cameo and starring roles, respectively, in "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry". Michael Buffer, the "Let’s Get Ready to Rumble" announcer, takes on a featured role in the film. And Mariah Carey, the best-selling female artist of all time, who earlier this year made history with the most #1 singles by a solo artist, appears as herself (and the idol of both Israeli and Arab fans). Carey’s song "I'll Be Lovin’ U Long Time", the third single from her album "E=MC2", is also featured in the film. But the cameos don’t stop there. Among other surprises, the film also features Kevin Nealon, John McEnroe, Charlotte Rae, who was Mrs Garrett on 'The Facts of Life', and Academy president Sid Ganis. "We may not get any Oscar ® nominations now, only because Sid has to appear neutral," says Smigel. Synopsis

Disco and hummus loving Zohan is the Israeli army's best weapon. He can single-handedly take out terrorists and swim like a dolphin, and still find time to charm the ladies. But this lethal weapon is tired of fighting Palestinian terrorists like the Phantom. He has bigger dreams: he wants to cut and style hair. The opprtunity to do so, comes during a confrontation with the Phantom, during which Zohan stages his own death. Arriving in New York City with a new look straight out of the 1980s and an assumed identity, his lack of experience gets him laughed out of salon after salon. Finally, Dalia, a Palestinian salon owner, gives him a shot, and the older patrons love him. But just as Zohan is hitting his stride, Salim, a Palestinian New York City cabbie recognizes him. Suddenly the Zohan's dream is in jeopardy. To confuse matters more, there is a Trump-like developer who is trying to clear out business tennents in the Manhattan neighborhood where Israelis and Palestinians peacefully coexist side by side, in order to build a mall.

The Verdict "If you're a fan of Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Rob Schneider and the guys from Happy Madison, the news is good, despite the bad reviews local critics have been giving his latest effort, "You Don't Mess With The Zohan". Despite the opening ten minutes where a number of scenes fail to even raise a snigger and fall way short of the mark, the film certainly blossoms once Zohan reaches New York. Zohan is, as far as Sandler comedy goes, his best character in years: even with the outrageous 'senior' sex antics. I have to be honest and admit I found Zohan a likeable character, even if his haircut is twenty years behind the times. I seriously doubt the film will do much to ease the tension between Israel and Palestine even if there is a ring of truth in the films final act. Amongst the cast you'll recognize the familiar faces of Kevin Nealon, Nick Swardson, Dave Matthews, John Farley and Dennis Dugan. If you're not a big fan of Sandler or Schneider, my advice would be to steer clear of "You Don't Mess With The Zohan". For the curious and adventureous, 2 1/2 STARS. 'Fan' rated at 3 1/2 STARS." Crew Bytes "YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN" was .......
directed by Dennis Dugan ["Beverly Hills Ninja", "Big Daddy", "National Security" and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry"]; set decoration by Ronald R Reiss ["Twister", "Any Given Sunday" and "The Matrix Reloaded"] and Alyssa Winter ["The Good Shepherd", "P.S. I Love You" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"]; costume design by Ellen Lutter ["Big Daddy", "Little Nicky", "Mr Deeds", "Anger Management", "50 First Dates", "The Longest Yard", "Click" and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry"]; production design by Perry Andelin Blake ["Happy Gilmore", "The Wedding Singer", "The Waterboy" and "The Benchwarmers"]; edited by Tom Costain ["The Matrix", "The Animal" and "White Chicks"]; director of photography American Society of Cinematographers Award winner Michael Barrett ["CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", "CSI: Miami", "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and "Goal!"]; original music by Rupert Gregson-Williams ["The Night We Called It a Day", "Click", "Bee Movie" and "Made of Honour"]. Who's Who?

Adam Sandler John Turturro Emmanuelle Chriqui Nick Swardson Lainie Kazan Ido Mosseri Rob Schneider Dave Matthews Michael Buffer Charlotte Rae Sayed Badreya Daoud Heidami Kevin Nealon Robert Smigel Dina Doronne Shelley Berman Chris Rock Mariah Carey John McEnroe George Takei Bruce Vilanch John Paul DeJoria Alec Mapa Ahmed Ahmed Ben Wise John Farley Joseph Marshek Guri Weinberg

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Zohan The Phantom Dalia Michael Gail Oori Salim James Walbridge Mrs Greenhouse Hamdi Nasi Kevin Yosi Zohan's Mother Zohan's Father Taxi Driver Herself Himself Himself Himself Paul Mitchell Claude Waleed Yitzhak Tom Pinchas Aharon

Run Time 113 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2008 - Sony Pictures - All Rights Reserved ©2008 All Rights Reserved - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - Protected by Australian, International, Copyright & Trademark Laws.