News Rick on 26 Jun 2008 07:30 am
Zohan Love
Adam Sandler’s latest movie You Don’t Mess With The Zohan has a title ready-made for lampooning. Never ones to miss an easy target, critics have been happy to oblige: “You mess with the Zohan at the risk of your own IQ,” says Chris Vognar of the Dallas Morning News. And “while you don’t mess with the Zohan, unfortunately you don’t laugh with him much, either,” opines Adam Graham at The Detroit News.
And though I’m not going to mess with him either (at least not until there’s a cold day in HBO Hell), according to Aron Heller of the the AP there’s a whole nation filled with Zohan love:
“You Don’t Mess With The Zohan” looks to be a big hit in the Holy Land. Billboards bearing the leading man’s split-legged, blowdryer-wielding image are plastered across city walls and numerous stories have been written and broadcast in the local media, which has called it the “most Israeli film in Hollywood.”
Indeed, says Yair Raveh at Cinemascope, Zohan was number one at the Israeli box office over the weekend, selling 37,529 tickets. If that doesn’t seem like many, think about how small the country is, and that it’s just a bit under their numbers for Indiana Jones and Sex in the City.
And while us pointy-headed liberals might fret over the blatant stereotypes that reportedly abound in the film, Heller reports that Israelis in general don’t seem worried:
Israelis didn’t seem too slighted by the not-too-favorable portrayal of them. At Wednesday’s premiere in Tel Aviv, the packed crowd burst out in ovation and laughter at each sighting of an Israeli actor and at each over-the-top cliche of their behavior — like when Zohan brushes his teeth with hummus, disco dances with a huge bulge in his pants or plays paddle ball with hand grenades.
“I wasn’t insulted at all. It was funny. Exaggerated, but funny,” said Guy Ben-Yaacov, 23. “Besides, I know a few guys like Zohan.”
Don’t we all.
(Don’t forget to go to Cinemascope to see the hilarious (if over-long) Sabra Price is Right, the SNL sketch upon which Zohan is based)
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on 26 Jun 2008 at 3:55 pm # Cinexcellence
That’s awesome. It’s amusing who usually gets offended: the ones that the jokes aren’t about.
on 26 Jun 2008 at 10:18 pm # Rick
Yep. We tend to be a sanctimonious bunch, all right. Sometimes I think everybody just needs to lighten up.
on 30 Jun 2008 at 1:19 pm # Daniel
While I agree that the humor was lighthearted, even Sandler himself has admitted that the majority of the jokes lampoon the Palestinians and not the Israelis. As a matter of fact, a number of Arab actors initially refused to take a role because they found it offensive.
Nevertheless, it’s still way too ridiculous to be considered that offensive. What offended me was how tired a lot of the humor was. Give me a fresh laugh once in a while, please.
on 30 Jun 2008 at 3:00 pm # Rick
Yeah, a fresh joke’d be nice once in awhile in any Sandler movie. Maybe that’s why the Israelis love it; it lampoons the Palestinians.
Seriously, though, if you go looking for cultural sensitivity in an Adam Sandler film, you’re barking up the wrong actor.
on 30 Jun 2008 at 11:22 pm # Whitney
Every time I’m at the theatre and I hear someone buying a ticket for this movie I get confused, Israeli, Palestinian, or whatever. I just don’t get it.
on 01 Jul 2008 at 11:27 am # Rick
Amen to that, Whitney. I don’t get why anybody’d want to see it.
on 01 Jul 2008 at 3:44 pm # patrick
Adam Sandler is classic in his own way, though he tends to do his best work when he stays casual, not trying too hard to be funny or deep, etc.
on 01 Jul 2008 at 4:06 pm # Rick
Patrick: I don’t dislike Sandler, he can be very funny. I think he illustrates the difficulty of getting good comic material. He usually settles for very inferior, juvenile, stuff. Thanks for the comment!