Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Some movies manage to be funny without offending anybody.  Then there's You Don't Mess With the Zohan, a movie that's quite funny, but has the potential to offend - well - almost everybody!

Adam Sandler plays Zohan, a member of the Israeli army.  His abilities to disarm enemies is legendary.  Think cartoonish mixture of James Bond, Superman, and the people in the Matrix movies - you know the ones that can climb walls, and take out 10 people at once with their lightning-fast reflexes.  In fact, Zohan's trademark move is to tie people in knots, so they end up like pretzels.  

While Zohan is the hero of his country, and his family, he's not happy.  He's tired of the fighting and just wants to live a peaceful life in America - as a hairdresser.  So, he fakes his death, and heads to New York, where he creates a false name and background for himself, telling everyone he's from Australia - which was pretty funny, given his overly-done Israeli accent.  Still, it works, and he eventually finds a job in a salon.  At first, he's hired only to sweep the floors, but eventually he convinces the Palestinian owner to give him a chance at cutting and styling.

When Zohan handles his new career with as much gusto as he did his old career, he's an instant success.  With the old ladies, that is.  His "special ways" of making them feel attractive and special have the old biddies lining up around the block.

All's well until one of his old Palestinian enemies recognizes him.

The movie contains a lot of familiar faces that add to the entertainment value.  Mariah Carey, Kevin James, Dave Matthews, George Takei, Henry Winkler and Jon McEnroe are just a few of the cameos.  Some of the other cast members are Rob Schneider and Michael Buffer. 

There's a lot of genuinely funny stuff.  Most of it revolves around Zohan's fighting abilities.  There are a few cute gags where he's able to balance in mid-air long enough to use both of this feet to fight, at the same time.  He can also do pushups, with two hands, with one hand, and, yes, with no hands.  He can even catch bullets - and other objects - with his various body parts.  All of it is silly, and funny.

However, there's also the sexual humor.  And here, the movie goes a bit too far, in my opinion.  It starts out with becoming the lover of his friend's mother, and not feeling one bit embarrassed about it.  And it just escalates from there.  His "special ways" in the salon were truly over-the-top, giving new definition to "raunchy". 

This movie is rated PG-13, but I wouldn't bring young teens to it, not with its level of sexual humor.

There are also a whole lot of scenes of animal abuse.  Not that I believe for one minute that an animal was hurt in the making of this movie, but to use animal abuse as a vehicle for humor is just wrong, in my opinion.  A cat used as a hacky sack, a cow used as punching bag, and a cage-full of puppies that are nearly blown to bits -  no animal was safe, in this movie. 

And then there were the stereotypes - the Israeli's and their hummus and their electronics stores, the Arab taxi drivers, the gay hairdressers - people aren't safe in this movie, either!

On the other hand, the movie does manage to deliver a nice message about people of different nationalities getting along, and there is a somewhat sweet ending.


So - my advice - if you like Adam Sandler's brand of humor, and you're not easily offended, go ahead and watch this one.  Otherwise, keep far away.

Recommended: No