You don't mess with the Zohan

Right out of the gate everyone knows that this is not going to be an intellectually stimulating film, but in some instances that is what people desire. I saw the preview for this when I went and saw Iron Man and I couldn’t help but laugh. When I got home I looked up the movie and made a note of the release date because it was something that I thought I would enjoy.
The movie starts out on a bikini clad beach in Israel (which is an oxymoron in itself), Zohan is very obviously enjoying a nice vacation and is grilling up some fish in the nude when he is called back up to duty to capture his Palestinian nemesis: Phantom. Apparently he had captured him before his vacation but they decided to “strategically” trade him back. It is at this point in the movie where you learn of his true love in life, hairstyling. He talks to his parents, saying that he wants to stop the hate and to stop the fighting but they will not hear it. He is the best in the army; best to stay where it is safe. So he ends up faking his death and hitching a ride with two doggies in the cargo pit of an airplane. He makes it to New York City where his dream of becoming a hairstylist is less than realized, at least for about 15 minutes. He then is allowed the job of sweeping hair in a little salon in a neighborhood which is under a hostile takeover by a mass conglomerate (the mirror image of walmart destroying local communities). This community just so happens to be Israeli on one side of the street and Palestinian on the other… and the comedy ensues.
Don’t get me wrong, there were some funny parts in the movie. One thing that typically happens with movies is that the preview somehow ends up encompassing the most funny, or the most scary, or the most action packed sequences of the film. You hope that this doesn’t happen, but in this instance this was most definitely the case. Some of the fight scenes were so stupid they were funny, but a lot of the scenes in the salon which were an attempt at some very crude humor (just wait til you see how he washes the old women’s hair, and the products alongside the wall of the backroom should just permanently be placed on the floor) just seemed too much for my taste. There is a definite crowd that they were aiming for (age 16-24 males I would say), and I wouldn’t recommend this film to anyone that offends easily by either sexual innuendos (or flat out references) or bias racial stereotypes. Sometimes I just get tired of seeing middle easterners always portrayed as slick dealing terrorists that drive cabs or are out to scam you of your money.
Anyways…
I would give this movie a 2/5. If you must see it I would recommend renting it.