You Don't Mess With the ZohanMovie Reviews

Poster art for "You Don't Mess With the Zohan."

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So-so

Avg. Critic Score: 54 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 14+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

75

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
Sandler works so hard at this, and so shamelessly, that he battered down my resistance. Like a Jerry Lewis out of control, he will do, and does, anything to get a laugh. No thinking adult should get within a mile of this film. I must not have been thinking. For my sins, I laughed. Read full review
70

The Hollywood Reporter | Sheri Linden
The comedy star's legions of fans will welcome the cheerfully crude proceedings as a return to silliness after several earnest, lower-key character turns. The melange of Middle East diplomacy, action absurdity, sexual healing and, when in doubt, hummus, wavers between muscular and middling. It's a surefire hit. Read full review
70

The New York Times | A.O. Scott
Brazenly self-confident in its refusal to pander to the imagined sensitivity of its audience. In this it differs notably from Albert Brooks's "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World," which approached some of the same topics with misplaced thoughtfulness and tact. Read full review
63

USA Today | Claudia Puig
The laughs are hit and miss and the movie is ho-hummus. Read full review
60

Los Angeles Times |
As another run-of-the-mill Sandler movie, it is better than most. At this point it seems a little foolish to want, let alone expect, "more" from the guy. If he can't be bothered to put more effort into his films, why should anybody else? Read full review
58

Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum
Forget "Monty Python," You Don't Mess With the Zohan is a circus that never really flies. Read full review
50

Washington Post | Stephen Hunter
The movie is gross but not unfunny as it covers the Zohan's rise through hair culture, aided by his steamy heterosexuality, his lack of inhibition and his stereotypical career aggressiveness, until the old ladies are lined up all the way to the Bronx for a few minutes of bliss in the Zohan's chair. Read full review
50

Rolling Stone | Peter Travers
By the end of the film, the clich of everybody getting along is reduced to both sides working together in the ultimate monument to capitalism: a mall. Some message. Read full review
40

Variety | Brian Lowry
The off-the-wall comedy of Robert Smigel and Judd Apatow leaves a mark on the script, but it would require a talent of Peter Sellers' magnitude to conquer this material, and he's not around. Read full review
25

San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle
Serious intent may be lurking somewhere in there, but it's buried under layers of stupidity - not just stupid jokes, which is what you want from Sandler, but also stupid, shallow thinking. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for You Don't Mess With the Zohan on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Lots of lewd Sandler stuff, but also some laughs.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that You Don't Mess with the Zohan is a classic Adam Sandler movie: Crude, impolitic, and riddled with sexual jokes, swearing, and offhand nudity (including a couple of shots of Sandler's bare butt). For exactly those reasons, it's very likely to attract his usual fan base, many of whom are teens. The film pokes fun at everything and everyone -- the elderly, political assassins, homosexuals, cabdrivers, racists, hairdressers, women with breast implants -- and often teeters on the line between funny and downright insulting. But, believe it or not, it's all in the name of the heartwarming (if cliched) message that love -- and, for that matter, personal goals -- triumphs over war and politics.

Families can talk about Sandler's brand of crude humor. Clearly, the film is using exaggeration for comic effect, but do they cross the line? If so, when, and who defines what "the line" is in the first place?
Do you think Sandler needs to rely on stereotypes to arrive at his message about transcending differences in the name of happiness?
Does the crude humor take away from the movie or help it succeed?

The good stuff

Positive messages: No group is spared from the movie's mockery, including the elderly, homosexuals, racists, and more. Despite this, you could argue that the movie actually promotes a message of peace and understanding among warring nations -- and there's even a secondary message of love crossing barriers.
Positive role models: Zohan is a killer by trade, and he's pretty good at it. He shows no compunction about hurting other people (though he does profess later to being tired of it). He also lies to family and friends about his whereabouts and to his new American acquaintances about his identity.

What to watch for

Violence: Lots, but it's quite cartoonish and generally played for laughs. For example, Zohan can jump from rooftops and land on enemies without getting hurt, he gets shot at without getting hit because he stops bullets with his bare hands, and he can successfully battle loads of gun-equipped assassins. Other characters brandish weapons and missiles, and there's a fair amount of kicking and tossing people around. In one scene, someone cuts off Zohan's hand, which he then uses to kill his tormentor.
Sex: Plentiful, and plenty crass. The film begins with lots of cleavage (and has plenty more throughout), punctuated immediately by a close-up of Sandler's naked backside (which viewers see again later). Incessant sexual jokes, suggestions of Zohan bedding all sorts of women as part of the "hairdressing experience." Sex scenes include some group activities. Lots of lewd references to body parts, sexual activity, etc. A woman's naked backside is visible in one scene in which intercourse is implied. Zohan gives his clients "happy endings."
Language: Language includes "goddamn," "s--t," "jackass," "screw," and more.
Consumerism: Signage everywhere, from Zohan's favorite fizzy soda to Phantom's fast food restaurants. Also, clear logos/signs for movers, stores, malls, and the venerable Paul Mitchell hair salon.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some social drinking, primarily at the beach parties Zohan hosts in the beginning of the movie.

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.