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You Don't Mess with the Zohan

Bad accents and infantile humor
By PETER KEOUGH  |  June 4, 2008
1.5 1.5 Stars
zohaninside.jpg
You Don't Mess with the Zohan

For me, the funniest moment in this benighted Judd Apatow project directed by Dennis Dugan was in the trailer. Adam Sandler doing a no-arm push-up — how I laughed! Now, having watched the whole film, I’ve paid the price for that moment of mirth: two hours of bad accents, infantile humor, inept editing, and ugly cinematography. On the other hand, it’s one of the few recent films — along with Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantánamo Bay and Standard Operating Procedure — to confront the War on Terror. When he’s not scoring babes on the beach with his hacky-sack skills, Sandler’s Zohan neutralizes terrorists for the Mossad. Tired of the fighting, he fakes his death and heads to New York to become a hair stylist. There he learns that the bad guys aren’t the Palestinians but real-estate developers and neo-Nazis. Unless your taste runs to hummus jokes and sexually abused elderly women, don’t mess with the Zohan. 113 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Circle/Chestnut Hill + suburbs

Related: Review: Funny People, Interview: Judd Apatow, I Now Pronounce You Chuck + Larry, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Terrorism, War and Conflict, Judd Apatow,  More more >
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ARTICLES BY PETER KEOUGH
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 See all articles by: PETER KEOUGH

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