You Don't Mess with the Zohan

Adam Sandler returns to lowbrow comedy as the titular preternaturally gifted Mossad operative who tires of the perennial Mideast conflict, fakes his own death, and journeys to America, where he plans on fulfilling his lifelong ambition of becoming a hair stylist. After landing a job in a salon run by a beautiful Palestinian girl (Emmanuelle Chriqui), the former one-man task force further attracts a loyal following by providing (ahem) additional services to elderly female clients. But after being recognized and targeted by an Arab cab driver (Rob Schneider), Zohan is forced to come clean with his employer—who turns out to be the sister of his mortal enemy, a terrorist known only as The Phantom (John Turturro). Although this premise might have been the basis for a clever, satirical comedy, Sandler and director Dennis Dugan instead opt to serve up a surfeit of lowest-common-denominator gags, many of which revolve around Zohan's impressive physical endowment. Incidentally, the sexual jokes here are fairly explicit and crude for a PG-13 rating. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (one with writer-producer-star Adam Sandler, and costars Robert Smigel, Rob Schneider, and Nick Swardson; the other with director Dennis Dugan), 10 behind-the-scenes featurettes—”Look Who Stopped By,” “Dugan: The Hands-On Director,” “The Stunts of Zohan,” “Dugan Espanol?,” “Zohan vs. Phantom,” “Shooting Baja for Tel Aviv,” “All American Redneck,” “From Guns to Scissors,” “The Robot,” and “Laughing is Contagious”—(67 min. total), 15 deleted scenes (14 min.), Easter eggs and trailers. The “2-Disc Fully Loaded Extended Version” includes five more featurettes—”Zohan's Doubles,” “News on 3: Missing Goat,” “News on 3: Who is the Zohan?,” “News on 3: It's Very Good,” and “Getting Sticky”—(20 min. total). Also included is a bonus digital copy of the film. The Blu-ray version includes all 15 featurettes and an exclusive “Translating the Zohan: Graphics-in-Picture Track.” Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing comedy.] (E. Hulse)