WAY funnier than I expected after reviews, audience response, etc...

I've never been a big Adam Sandler fan, but this is certainly his funniest movie in years; not quite as offensive and controversial as one may have hoped for, but certainly a dumb-funny look at both Middle-Eastern and American stereotypes, and some of the sequences in particular are just hilarious, making up for the stupid or weak scenes.

Way better than crap like Click that tries to turn serious or crap like Chuck & Larry which just isn't funny. Considering my lowered expectations, I was really surprised. But still, that Sandler/Dugan stupidity is all too present and familiar.

B-

Yeah, it really doesn't make any sense. The gag seems to be that all of Israel is stuck in some strange disco-laden time warp. Huh?

good points there. That's why, though I enjoyed this (more than I expected, at least), I hold it on a far lower level than something like "Borat."

Am I the only one who sees the logical prograssion here?

Stop.fucking.mirroring my reviews. I don't like that. We have to be opposites or the world will self implode.

Ewww. Now I know why it was banned here (as well as the rest of Middle East countries). Extremely ridiculous is okay. Unfortunately, it was also very unfunny.

D

A-
It was funny, lighthearted and enjoyable.

Pure shit.

Sandler's worst by a long mile.

F

I compare this as a more malicious and profane Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Both have a few minutes of inspired comedy mixed in with long stints of stupidity. Both have joke laden premises that fail pretty bad. Both have very charismatic stars that don't live up to what they have done in the past. And both are truly and utterly harmless: perfect time wasters that are amusing and easy to watch, despite serious flaws.
5.5/10 (same score as Paul Blart)

B/B+


I know I probably shouldn't have liked this, but I did. It's not the generic Adam Sandler family-friendly stuff that he churns out every year. Sure, it also carries the PG-13 rating, but it is definitely more "out there" than what he usually does. The film goes absolutely over-the-top in its ridiculousness, playing out like a somewhat less funny version of Borat only this time being completely staged. I have never been a big fan of Sandler, but he is really the best thing about this as Zohan. Finally we see an unhinged, all-out performance by him and in a weird way it works.

As I said, it is absolutely ridiculous from start to finish, even by comedy standards. Several jokes fall flat and some simply made me think "WTF?!". But there is stuff that sticks, especially some of the one-liners ("Does she know that you're a faygelah?") Rob Schneider is not all too annoying, for a change and John Turturro is a decent "villain" to play off Sandler. But I suppose what surprised me the most was its approach to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict which was far better handled in the film that I could have ever expected of a film like this. One of the dialogue exchanges I liked was:

"- People don't like us.
- Come it's not easy for us. People don't like us too.
- Why?
- Because they think we're you."