DVD
REVIEW: You Don't Mess With The Zohan
2-Disc Fully Loaded Extended Version
10/06/08
SYNOPSIS:
Comedy superstar Adam Sandler is back – and funnier than
ever – as The Zohan, the finest counterterrorist agent the
Israeli army has. That is, until he fakes his death and
travels to Manhattan to live his dream…as a hairdresser. Now
this skilled fighting machine who used to clip bad guys is
out to prove he can make the cut as a top stylist. All goes
silky smooth until his cover is blown when he’s recognized
by a Palestinian cab driver (Rob Schneider). Now, The Zohan
must fight to live a peaceful new life in New York in this
razor-sharp action-packed comedy from Adam Sandler, Robert
Smigel, Judd Apatow and Dennis Dugan.
REVIEW: I hadn’t
completely realized the kind of career Adam Sandler has had
until I watched the MTV Movie Awards where he won the
Generation Award. The career synopsis video opened my eyes
to the fact that this guy has successfully done it all and
he’s been around forever (well over 20 years). Ever since
his breakout role in Billy Madison, he has never looked
back. Well, actually he is kind of looking back with this
latest production. I would categorize his movies into four
groups:
- Stupid, corny comedies
(examples: Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Waterboy)
- Not so stupid comedies
(examples: Anger Management, 50 First Dates)
- More mature comedies
(examples: Longest Yard, Click, Chuck and Larry)
- “Dramas” (examples:
Spanglish, Reign Over Me)
All of these were relatively successful productions. In this
latest one, he is going back to his roots . . . the stupid,
corny comedy. As I have mentioned before, my disclaimer is
that I have a very open sense of humor so I do enjoy these
stupid humor movies. This was no exception. It is very corny
but very funny. It gets a good score on my “I laughed so
hard it made me cry” factor. My brother almost choked from
laughing so hard. I was worried there for a moment.
The best characteristic of this film is its original idea.
As it is with most of Adam’s movies, he helps create these
off the wall original characters that you can’t help but
feel for and cheer on. Zohan is probably his most powerful
and respected character to date, thus the title . . . heck,
the Zohan is borderline superhero which is appropriate for
the summer movie season. This character is what truly makes
this picture very exaggerated fun. Speaking of exaggerated,
there is an extensive use of hummus throughout the film.
Remember the use of honey in the Bee Movie, or the use of
windex in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, well then you get the
picture on the use of hummus. As far as the rest of the
characters, and as is customary with Adam’s movies, they all
seem to complement the central character and make him stand
out even more. Of course it helps to have a meaty cast to do
this. You’ve got names like John Turturro, Emmanuelle
Chriqui, Nick Swardson, Lainie Kazan, and of course Rob
Schneider bringing quality and spice to their characters,
the script, and thus the story. And the story needs it
because it’s not all that. It could easily be the weakest
link in this production. In a film like this, it’s all about
the characters and the comedy . . . the storyline, not so
much. There were also some interesting cameos in this
picture that I won’t mention so you will be surprised like I
was.
To reiterate, this movie is very funny, but it also has its
share of very corny moments, the kind that make you say
“okay, moving right along”. But then again, different people
have different senses of humor so you might like it or hate
it. Either way you’ve got to hand it to Director Dennis
Dugan for cranking out and yet another great comedy to add
to his collection: e.g. Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy,
Benchwarmers, Chuck and Larry. If you’ve enjoyed any of
these movies mentioned throughout this review and/or you’re
a fan of Adam Sandler, you don’t want to miss this one.
Movie
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
This 2 Disc Fully Loaded
Extended Version contains close to 1 hour and half of
bonus features including a digital copy. Must of these
features are not out of this world and don't bring
anything new, however I found 3 featurettes that are
worth mention. The first one is
"Dugan Español? "
where the director Dennis Dugan makes his best effort to speak
Spanish. also the featurette "The Robot" , this an
interview with robot from the film, And finally in disc
2, you will find three breaking news "News on 3" featurettes that are
really funny.
VIDEO:
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English, and French
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English
French - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Commentary with Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, Rob Schneider &
Nick Swardson
Commentary with Dennis Dugan
Deleted scenes A total of 15 deleted
scenes. (13:48)
"Look
Who Stopped By" Adam Sandler and director
Dennis Dugan talk about the how they were able to get so
many star to cameo in the film Chris Rock, Mariah Carey and
Sid Gas just mention a few. (9:17)
Dugan:
The Hands-On Director: This is a small
featurette about director Dennis Dugan. Includes comments
from the cast, producer and Dugan himself. (7:14)
"The
Stunts of Zohan" :The director and stunt coordinator
Scott Rogers talk abotu the film stunts (10:12)
Dugan Español? This is probably funniest featurette
of the DVD, As director Dennis Dugan makes his best effort
to speak Spanish. Really funny stuff (4:47)
Zohan vs Phantom: John Turturro and
Adam Sandler talk about their
character in the film.
(4:16)
Shooting Baja for Tel Aviv: This is another little
behind the scenes about the film shooting (6:53)
All
American Redneck:
Adam Sandler and director Dennis
Dugan, talk about Dave Mathews character. (4:08)
From Guns to
Scissors: This featurette is about the middle east
actors that took part in the film. All shared some of the
personal experiences (9:08)
The
Robot: This is and interview with the Robot in the
film. Another funny featurette (4:12)
Laughing is Contagious: This is basically the Gag
Reel (6:04)
Zohan
Doubles:
Getting Sticky
News on 3: Missing Goat
News on 3: Who is the Zohan?
News on 3: It's Very Good
Digital Copy
RATING BREAK DOWN:
| FILM REVIEW |
 |
|
VIDEO |
|
|
AUDIO |
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| BONUS
FEATURES |
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