WHAT REVIEWS ARE SAYING ABOUT ADAM SANDLER'S "ZOHAN"
Adam Sandler notoriously shuns the print press while promoting his films because he doesn't usually need to pull out all the stops. Faithful fans will typically follow him anywhere. In the past five years alone, the comedian has notched five $100+ million-grossing films.
Mr. Sandler's latest offering, "You Don't Mess With the Zohan", will need those loyal fans to come through again, considering how many reviews so far are negative. (It's probably not encouraging that some critics are citing the peformance of Mariah Carey - who flopped spectacularly in "Glitter" - as a highlight.)
"Zohan" features the 41-year-old Mr. Sandler as a Mossad agent who fakes his own death to pursue his real passion: cutting "silky smooth" hair. The film features Emmanuelle Chiriqui (from HBO's "Entourage") as a pretty Palestinian salon owner. It's co-written by old Sandler pals Judd Apatow and Robert Smigel.
Here's a sampling of "Zohan" reviews: The Wall Street Journal's Joe Morgenstern says the film is "as messy as comedies come - an inspired, hilarious mess". Chicago Tribune: "This Israeli-on-Arab version of Shampoo is terrible in many ways, and shoddy in every way that has to do with filmmaking." Entertainment Weekly: Lisa Schwarzbaum says Mr. Sandler is "a menschy charmer, all the more so for being so casually, confidently post-political about the role; it's a sexy, adult look for the guy," but the film is "a muck of lessons about shalom as bland as any underseasoned bowl of chickpea dip."
Variety: Although the film's treatment of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict might normally court controversy, Zohan itself is just "too silly to justify genuine anger". New York Times: A.O. Scott, however, gets a kick out of "the finest post-Zionist action-hairdressing sex comedy I have ever seen," and calls Sandler's Zohan "a less anguished version of the character played by Eric Bana in Munich".
Source: Wall Street Journal
