Fridae

Don't Mess with the Zohan? More like A Mess with the Zohan. We know, we know, the trailer was hilarious. But the actual movie is not. (That argument must sound familiar to seasoned moviegoers by now.)

Adam Sandler plays Zohan, an Israeli soldier who secretly dreams of being a hairdresser in New York. He fakes his own death during a clash between Israeli and Palestinian forces, and stows away to Manhattan to fulfill his ambition.

Ironically, the only salon that would hire a greenhorn like him happens to be run by a beautiful Palestinian girl (comely Emmanuelle Chriqui). Zohan is an immediate hit with her salon's older female clientele because he flirts with them and screws them after every haircut. Happy as Zohan is, his idyll is about to be destroyed when his nemesis from the Middle East finds him in the US...

Now the premise sounds promising � as promising as the trailer made the movie look � but the actual full-length feature is remarkably disappointing. The direction is sloppy, the jokes are gross or limp, and cynical stereotypes abound.

And yes, let's not forget to mention the mean, homophobic jokes that by now have become standard fare in Adam Sandler's movies. Remember I Pronounce You Chuck and Larry? We pronounce Adam a plain old bigot.