You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)

An Israeli Special Forces Soldier fakes his death so he can re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist.

Director:

Dennis Dugan

Writers:

Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel

Stars:

Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adam Sandler	...	Zohan
John Turturro	...	Phantom
Emmanuelle Chriqui	...	Dalia
Nick Swardson	...	Michael
Lainie Kazan	...	Gail
Ido Mosseri	...	Oori
Rob Schneider	...	Salim
Dave Matthews	...	James
Michael Buffer	...	Walbridge
Charlotte Rae	...	Mrs. Greenhouse
Sayed Badreya	...	Hamdi
Daoud Heidami	...	Nasi
Kevin Nealon	...	Kevin
Robert Smigel	...	Yosi
Dina Doron	...	Zohan's Mother (as Dina Doronne)

Storyline

Harbouring an ardent desire to be the best in the cut-throat world of hairdressers, the Mossad's finest agent, Zohan, seizes the opportunity to call it quits by faking his death, after a fierce battle with his arch-nemesis, Phantom. In high hopes of making his dream come true in New York, the ambitious Zohan lands a job in the stylish hair salon of the beautiful Palestinian, Dalia, and things seem to work as planned; until a man from the past blows his cover. Now, the Zohan must fight tooth and nail to keep his new lifestyle, and in the meantime, try to win the heart of his boss. Can Zohan's dazzling hairstyling techniques save the world?

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Plot Keywords:

hair stylist | palestinian | funny arab | arab israeli conflict | super strength | 

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Taglines:

Lather. Rinse. Save the world.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, language and nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Zohan was loosely based on Nezi Arbib, a hairstylist and former Israeli soldier in Solana Beach, California. Arbib taught Adam Sandler and the film crew different hairstyling techniques, while Sandler learned Arbib's mannerisms.

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Goofs

At 1:43:10 when Zohan is running after phantom, you see Adam Sandler stunt guy running out from the building onto the sea trying to catch the phantom before going onto the jet ski.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Danny: You don't mess with the Zohan!

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Alternate Versions

The unrated version runs almost four minutes longer than the theatrical version and includes many extended scenes.

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Connections

Referenced in The Great North: Romantic Meat-Based Adventure (2021)

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Soundtracks

No Privacy
Written by Matthew Ryder
Performed by DJ Mr.
Courtesy of Broken Complex

User Reviews

I am sorry I wasted 2 hours of my life.

I've liked pretty much every zany Sandler movie since Happy Gilmore. His zany antics and crude childish humor are a perfect escape for a fun movie night.

I was expecting this with Zohan but instead I was treated to the same crude sex joke about 27 times. OK OK I get it he bangs old ladies...it stopped being funny after about 20 seconds....time to move on.

The whole Arab/ Israeli thing was done poorly..was unfunny and really annoying. The last half of the movie should have been left on the cutting room floor.

It was like the directors and writers got bored after creating the first 45 min of the movie and just found the quickest way to fill up the next hour with meaningless garbage.

Avoid this tripe...even a 12 pack won't make it seem funnier.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hebrew

Release Date:

6 June 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

You Don't Mess with the Zohan

Filming Locations:

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$38,531,374, 8 June 2008

Gross USA:

$100,018,837

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$204,313,400

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Happy Madison Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 117 min (Unrated Edition)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1