In keeping with Sandler’s recent crop of movies, which pair Sandler’s signature base humor with a halfhearted swipe at a message about life, the focus of "Zohan"’s is ambitious but uneven. There are funny parts, but they are brief moments of relief from a storyline that dawdles throughout, lurching forward at odd intervals.
"Zohan," more so than previous Sandler movies, represents his attempts to finally grow up with his audience, many of whom still quote "Billy Madison" but haven’t been impressed with his recent work. "Zohan" is Sandler’s awkward puberty, with hints of a more developed storyline and slightly more mature humor.
These moments of promise, however, are dragged down by repetitive jokes that were never funny to begin with and a pacing that seems almost intent on prolonging the monotonous, whereas the movie’s main conflict is both presented and resolved in what seems to be about 10 minutes.
Sandler’s acting is inspired, as always, but other characters (John Tutturro’s especially) are given lines and parts not at all commensurate with their ability. Tutturro would have made a fine terrorist, but is never given a challenge. And in a brief cameo, notoriously terrible actress Mariah Carey manages to outshine Rob Schneider, who is given terrible dialogue and spends the movie obviously frustrated with his inability to say or do anything entertaining.
The ultimate message of "Zohan", about the pointlessness of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the potential for humor to bring people together, is admirable. But in keeping with the largely undeveloped nature of "Zohan" in general, it never quite manages to deliver that message in a manner that speaks to us.
However, there are redeeming qualities. The handful of funny moments can almost carry the film, the portrayal of Arab and Israeli stereotypes is actually rather good, and the interaction of Israelis and Palestinians toward the end of the film seems genuine and almost touching.
Fans know by now that Sandler has miles to go, and those who walk into "Zohan" with reasonable expectations will likely be mildly pleased with what they see. Sandler hasn’t gotten worse or better since his earliest movies, he’s merely changed his focus and is ironing out the kinks. Closer than ever to finding his stride, "Zohan" should be remembered as a stepping stone to a new generation of Sandler movies, but no great accomplishment in itself.
