NOW IN THEATERS

YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN
Rated PG-13
Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Nick Swardson, Lainie Kazan

Brian’s Rating       

I have a theory about Adam Sandler movies. Every time he uses a fake accent, he gets into trouble.

You could argue that he used an accent in his mega-grossing hit The Waterboy, but I will point to the colossal failure of Little Nicky as I predict the early theatrical demise of his current work, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.

In the space of two hours, Adam Sandler erases all memory of his fine work in Punch Drunk Love and Reign over Me and delivers his most forgettable performance to date.

The premise, that an Israeli commando would fake his own death in order to fulfill his dream of becoming a hairdresser, seems tailor-made for Sandler’s comic style but the writers can seem to manage only a handful of gags, which they repeat ad nauseam.

I wasn’t amused. I wasn’t repulsed. I wasn’t grossed out. I was, quite simply, bored.