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.
Comment
06/20/08
You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008)
36
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:177
Fresh:64
Rotten:113
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: You Don't Mess With the Zohan features intermittent laughs, and will please Sandler diehards, but after awhile the leaky premise wears thin.
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Genre: Comedies
US Box Office: $100,018,837
Synopsis: Dennis Dugan (BIG DADDY, HAPPY GILMORE) directs this comedy co-written by Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, and Robert Smigel. Disco- and hummus-loving Zohan (Sandler) is the Israeli army's best weapon.... [More]
Starring: Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Nick Swardson
Director: Dennis Dugan
Reviews for You Don't Mess With The Zohan
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Top CriticIt goes on too long, but I enjoyed much of the crazy, off-the-wall nature of this political satire and the Sandler-Apatow brand of humour.
06/16/08
Top CriticIf only the Zohan hadn’t messed with us. Worse than his excruciating Chuck And Larry, Sandler seems determined to refine the unfunny comedy. Please, Mr Sandler, stop it. Please. It hurts.
06/20/08
Top CriticOccasionally the film is so bad it's almost funny, if you think a scene in which a cat is used as a football is funny.
07/10/08
Top CriticThere are enough comedy diamonds in the rough here though to make it worth a look, but only just.
08/15/08
Top CriticLet me be blunt: You Don’t Mess With the Zohan is the finest post-Zionist action-hairdressing sex comedy I have ever seen.
06/05/08
Top CriticIn the relatively anemic anthology of recent Adam Sandler flops, You Don't Mess with the Zohan hangs above with comedic charm and a nonsensically amusing plotline. Sandler is the white version of the legendary Tim Meadows character The Ladies Man.
06/06/08
Zohan is both exponentially stranger than Larry and about twice as amusing.
07/18/08
Zohan's a shallow character even by Sandler's standards, a bunch of crotch thrusts in search of a laugh.
06/06/08
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.
06/06/08
The racial stereotypes that emerge in this film are as over the top and potentially offensive as Eli Wallach's Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. But what redeems the film to some degree is its general good naturedness...
06/08/08
From the wholly insular and yet perfectly realized fantasy world it creates to the nonstop barrage of ethnic slams, You Don't Mess with the Zohan is a comedy of contradictions..
06/05/08
There's just enough chutzpah to Zohan to keep it amusing and sporadically uproarious. It's a decent comedy construct: a film one unforgiving editorial pass away from greatness.
06/06/08
While Zohan purveys the familiar Sandler mix of Jewvenile humor and geriatric love, it's less about a manic manchild than it is a raunchily wholesome message movie that deploys stereotypes in order to smash them.
06/05/08
The movie may not win Sandler many new fans, but it's a baby step toward making comedies with a bit more substance than, say, The Waterboy.
06/06/08
Zohan 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.
06/06/08
Director Dennis Dugan knows his way around shin-whacking slapstick, and Sandler is mesmerizing.
06/09/08
The central character may be a spin on Borat, and many of the jokes a touch familiar, but the whole package is so unbelievably silly, you’ll find yourself laughing for at least half the running time.
08/15/08
The central character may be a spin on Borat, and many of the jokes a touch familiar, but the whole package is so unbelievably silly, you’ll find yourself laughing for at least half the running time.
08/15/08
A movie that de-glorifies sex into a tool used for career advancement, altruistic joy and in lieu of "thank-you" note? Sign me up!
06/06/08
Latest News for You Don't Mess With The Zohan
October 05, 2008:
This counter-terrorism satire is its own worst enemy. Especially whenever Sandler's whining geek turned combo swaggering assassin hair stylist's too-much-information bulging prosthetic crotch pops up. 
More...
August 19, 2008:
Arab Censors Mess With The Zohan
In a move that will leave some American filmgoers seething with jealousy, censors in Egypt, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates have banned Adam Sandler's You Don't Mess With... More...
August 16, 2008:
NewFilmReview: This counter-terrorism satire is its own worst enemy. Especially whenever Sandler's whining geek turned combo swaggering assassin hair stylist's too-much-information bulging prosthetic crotch pops up.
More...
July 13, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Moody Superheroes Rule the Box Office
Hellboy II: The Golden Army nudges Hancock out of first place while Murphy debuts as the summer's biggest flop. More...
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