YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN
Quality: * * * Acceptability: -3
SUBTITLES: None
WARNING CODES:
Language: LL
Violence: VV
Sex: SSS
Nudity: NN
RATING: PG-13
RELEASE: June 6, 2008
TIME: 113 minutes
STARRING: Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Mick Swardson
DIRECTOR: Dennis Dugan
PRODUCERS: Jack Giarraputo and Adam Sandler
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Barry Bernardi
WRITER: Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel and Judd Apatow
BASED ON THE NOVEL/PLAY BY: N/A
DISTRIBUTOR: Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Entertainment
CONTENT: (HH, PaPa, P, B, LL, VV, SSS, NN, A, MM) Strong humanist worldview with strong pagan elements such as hedonistic living mixed with a light pro-American and mild moral theme; two profanities and ten obscenities; fantasy, superhero type violence as character uses martial arts against enemy, some gun play and explosions; constant discussion of sex and male genitalia with continual shots of character's crotch, one depicted sex scene between unmarried couple, though mostly played for laughs as well as constant off screen sex scenes of main character with numerous women; upper male nudity and rear male and female nudity; minor drinking of wine; no smoking or drug use; and, villainous landlord tries to close down neighborhood, vandalism.
GENRE: Action Comedy
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Teenagers and adults
Please address your comments to:
Michael Lynton, Chairman/CEO
Amy Pascal, Chairman - Motion Picture Group
Sony Pictures Entertainment
(Columbia Pictures/TriStar/Screen Gems/Provident)
10202 West Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232-3195
Phone: (310) 244-4000
Fax: (310) 244-2626
Web Page: www.spe.sony.com/
SUMMARY: YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN is the story of Zohan, an Israeli counterterrorist who fakes his own death and moves to New York City in order to pursue his dream of being a hair stylist. While sometimes funny in its cleaner moments, this movie contains constant crude humor loaded with sexual innuendo and sexual images.
IN BRIEF:
YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN is the story of Zohan, an Israeli counterterrorist who fakes his own death and moves to New York City to pursue his dream of being a hair stylist. Zohan gets a job at a hair salon owned by love interest Dalia. His clientele becomes middle aged and elderly women who are charmed by him as well as the fact that after, cutting their hair, he takes them to a back room where they have sexual relations. Meanwhile, Zohan's Palestinian rival, The Phantom, discovers Zohan is alive and sets out to kill him. Also, an evil landlord tries to shut down the neighborhood, which is uneasily shared by Israeli and Palestinian immigrants. The landlord hires Southern militia to vandalize the neighborhood, hoping the Palestinians and Israelis will blame each other.
ZOHAN is well made with plenty of often funny special effects when Zohan fights the bad guys. However, nearly every shot or scene is filled with either shots of Zohan's crotch, sexual innuendo, or other explicit images. How this movie received a PG-13 rating with this much sexual content is unclear. It's also totally outrageous!
NOTE from Dr. Ted Baehr, publisher of Movieguide Magazine. For more information from a Christian perspective, order the latest Movieguide Magazine by calling 1-800-899-6684(MOVI) or visit our website at www.movieguide.org. Movieguide is dedicated to redeeming the values of Hollywood by informing parents about today's movies and entertainment and by showing media executives and artists that family-friendly and even Christian-friendly movies do best at the box office year in and year out. Movieguide now offers an online subscription to its magazine version, atwww.movieguide.org. The magazine, which comes out 25 times a year, contains many informative articles and reviews that help parents train their children to be media-wise consumers.
