An unconventional movie gets an unconventional review. Today, let’s play a round of “It’s funny that…” or “It’s not funny that…” No, I haven’t done this before, and yes, you’ll get it quickly.
It’s funny that…coming off two SNL-flavored posts this week, I should happen to go see Zohan Thursday night.
It’s not funny that…the movie relies on a few of the same running gags for nearly all of its two hours. We get it, Zohan is well endowed and enjoys hummus.
It’s funny that…Sandler gets so many cameos for his movies. The list is growing, and getting more creative. Sure, there’s old standbys like Chris Rock and Kevin Nealon and John Farley (Chris’s brother), and there’s the old drunk guy from Big Daddy, but the new faces, from Mariah Carey to George Takei, really add some laughs.
It’s not funny that…Emmanuelle Chiriqui sucks at accents. Who’d have ever thought that Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider would be seen as experts in the goofy accent field? Chiriqui sounded like a high school drama student in a production of Arabian Nights or something.
It’s simultaneously funny and not funny that…John Turturro and Rob Schneider are playing Palestinians here. History shows us Charlie Chan as an example of a character played by white actors that offended many, yet Turturro and Schneider have each made a career out of playing multiple ethnicities, together playing anything from Jewish to Mexican to Hawaiian to Chinese to Palestinian – it’d be offensive if it weren’t so impressive, as each is usually dedicated to the role and avoids caricature where possible.
It’s funny that…Adam Sandler has ever gotten pegged for being immature. Well, let me explain. Yes, of course, Sandler and his films are immature – I mean, I just derided the movie for going overboard with the penis jokes. But, at their core, they couldn’t be tamer or more well-meaning. Looking back at a sampling of his films, we can see neon lights flashing the morals to each of them:
* Billy Madison: Don’t drink. Go to school. Act your age.
* Happy Gilmore: Accept your fate. Learn something new. Don’t be a quitter.
* Big Daddy: Grow up. Get a job. Care about someone other than yourself.
* Little Nicky: Don’t judge a book by its cover. David vs. Goliath.
You Don’t Mess With the Zohan is no different: Follow your dreams. Love thy neighbor. F*ck thy senior citizen.
Leave Your Comments