It is a suprisingly funny film – despite the fact that, like a lot of Sandler comedies, it descends into third act slapstick madness.
Some of the social/political humour was actually quite ballsy, think Munich crossed with Happy Gilmore and you’ll get some idea of way this film mines the Arab-Israeli conflict for humour.
Despite some predictable lapses into ‘why can’t we all get along’ territory, I found myself laughing at some of the gleefully nonsensical elements.
Sandler’s comedies don’t always do that well outside the US, but perhaps this one might buck the trend.
You Don’t Mess With The Zohan opens in the UK on August 15th and is out now in the US
The story is about the memoir of an ousted CIA official (John Malkovich) that falls into the hands of two gym employees (Pitt and McDormand) who then try to exploit their find.
Note the requisite deep voiceover from Hal Douglas, the trademark monosyllabic wise cracks, endless explosions, weird bongo style music and the hilariously cheesy final line.