Independent student content

BG Falcon Media

Independent student content

BG Falcon Media

Independent student content

BG Falcon Media

The BG News
Follow us on social
BG24 Newscast
April 18, 2024

  • Jeanette Winterson for “gAyPRIL”
    “gAyPRIL” (Gay-April) continues on Falcon Radio, sharing a playlist curated by the Queer Trans Student Union, sharing songs celebrating the LGBTQ+ experience. In similar vein, you will enjoy Jeanette Winterson’s books if you find yourself interested in LGBTQ+ voices and nonlinear narratives. As “dead week” is upon us, students, we can utilize resources such as Falcon […]
  • Poetics of April
    As we enter into the poetics of April, also known as national poetry month, here are four voices from well to lesser known. The Tradition – Jericho Brown Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Brown visited the last American Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP 2024) conference, and I loved his speech and humor. Besides […]
Spring Housing Guide

You shouldn’t bother with the ‘Zohan’

Memorable films are the ones that grab your attention with outlandish characters or unique scripts. At the same time, saying a film is memorable is not always relative to the measure of quality a film may have. “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” is a film from Adam Sandler that, although it may be memorable, is equally distasteful and insipidly uninspiring. Even for Sandler die-hards, this is going to be a tough sell.

“Zohan” is one of those films that feels like it was thrown together after a night of excessive drinking while watching newsreels about the war in the Middle East. Sandler plays Zohan, whom we meet on a beach full of awestruck, bikini-clad women surrounding a group of Israeli men playing hacky sack.

Zohan, at the center of attention, exhibits a plethora of superhuman skills. Just after he clenches a fish with his bare buttocks, we learn that Zohan’s real day job is a counter terrorist agent.

With skills like catching bullets with his teeth, swimming like a dolphin and disarming villains in a millisecond, Zohan may seem like a perfect fit for his violent lifestyle. However, Zohan has a higher and remotely notable dream that prompts him to leave his country in search of his calling to be a hairdresser. Now, armed only with his scissors and Paul Mitchell’s book of hairstyles from the 80s, Zohan sets off to America with the ambition to create hairstyles and sexual favors that no women would ever want.

“Zohan” is a political satire that is filled to the brim with racial stereotypes that discredit the assumed nature of the film. What seemingly looks to be a humorous film about an immigrant who wishes to cut and style hair, Zohan gears its jokes towards the ongoing feud in the Middle East while further stereotyping their characters. If Sandler’s intention was truly to promote peace among the Palestinians and Israelis, his efforts have done everything to poke fun at it rather than aid it.

The most memorable Adam Sandler films treat their audiences with a level of integrity or tender resonance among its often immature, but sometimes clever, humor.

Sadly, but with no surprise “Zohan” is Sandler’s most disruptive, distasteful and worst film. It will only be remembered for its blatant absurdity. If Rachael Ray can’t get away with wearing a scarf in a Dunkin’ Donuts ad, why should Sandler get away with this garbage?

CRITIC’S RATING: Half of a star out of four

LETTER GRADE: D-

RUNTIME: 113 min.

RATED: PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, language and nudity.

STARRING: Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Rob Schneider

DIRECTOR: Dennis Dugan

Leave a Comment
Donate to BG Falcon Media
$825
$1500
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Bowling Green State University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to BG Falcon Media
$825
$1500
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All BG Falcon Media Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *