Israelis and Arabs Walk Into a Film ...

The NY Times ^ | May 25, 2008 | DAVE ITZKOFF

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In “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan”, Mr. Sandler plays an Israeli assassin who flees to the United States to become a hairdresser. Trailers for the film promise plenty of broad farce, physical comedy and at least one lewd dance routine. What the ad campaign for “Zohan” does not emphasize is that the film also attempts to satirize the continuing tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and provide humorous commentary on one of the least funny topics of modern times with a comedian who is not exactly known for incisive political wit.

If you’re already wondering what gives the “Zohan” crew the right to tackle such sensitive subject matter, well, so are they.

“I’m not sure we do have permission,” said Robert Smigel, one of the screenwriters and a longtime friend of Mr. Sandler’s. “But we thought it would be a funny idea.”

About eight years ago Mr. Sandler conceived of the Zohan character, an Israeli assassin who has been trained to hate and kill Arabs; exhausted by the ceaseless bloodshed, he fakes his own death and flees to New York to become a hairdresser. There he finds Jews and Arabs living together in grudging if not quite harmonious tolerance.

At the time, Mr. Sandler (who rarely if ever gives interviews to the print news media) delegated the script to Mr. Smigel, who had frequently written for him on “Saturday Night Live,” and Judd Apatow, a former roommate of Mr. Sandler’s, who was not yet the one-man comedy juggernaut of “Knocked Up” and “40-Year-Old Virgin” fame.

Both writers found “Zohan” a subversive, somewhat improbable assignment. “There was always this question of, can you make this movie?” Mr. Apatow said in a phone interview. “Because it is making fun of the fact that people are so mad at each other.”

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[Liberty Valance]

Adam Sandler plays "Zohan".

[Liberty Valance]

With the help of a pair of sky blue skin-tight trunks - and a giant cod piece - Hollywood star Adam Sandler did his best to copy 007 while filming on a beach in Mexico.

[raybbr]

I am soooooo tired of Adam Sandler. He is a mediocre actor/comedian at best.

[Danny Carlton]

Sandler apparently thinks the problem in Israeli is partly Israel’s fault. The next time Palestinian terrorists bomb a shop full of women and children, will he go tell the relatives it was partly their fault? Arabs live peacefully in Israel, many as citizens, some even as member of the Knesset (their “congress”), yet Jews are not allowed to live in most Moslem nations. Sandler is a typical, Hollyweird, self-hating Jew.

[Moonmad27]

Saw the trailer for this yesterday at Indy Jones - I was amazed that Sandler was actually acting, playing a completely different character, far less annoying than usual. Maybe the film has a chance!