The Carolinian's Pick of the Week: Adam Sandler's Don't Mess With The Zohan

Adam Sandler seems to be having a competition to come up with the most ridiculous premise for a movie (Though he may be just competing with himself.) In his latest movie, You Don't Mess With The Zohan, which is available on DVD and Blue Ray this Tuesday, Sandler may have his silliest storyline yet.

Sandler plays the title character of The Zohan, an Israeli counter terrorist who is the best in the world, yet dreams of going to America to become a world-class hair stylist. However he is too embarrassed to ever tell anyone his dream. After becoming tired of the constant fighting in the Middle East, and with the help of a Paul Mitchell guide from the 80s, The Zohan fakes his own death and heads out to America to fulfill his dream. However he finds that his quest to become the greatest stylist ever is hampered by his inability to make small talk with the customers as he cuts their hair. In one scene he tells a small child to stop squirming or else he might accidentally cut his jugular vein. When this fails to calm the child down, The Zohan resorts to using the sleeper hold on the child.

The Zohan eventually finds success in a small hair salon cutting the hair of elderly women after realizing that he can simply have sex with them instead of talking to them.

Other problems occur, when a Pakistani taxi cab driver (played by Sandler's eternal right-hand man, Rob Schneider) recognizes the Zohan for who he is and tries to seek revenge because (we eventually learn) The Zohan stole his goat. After some failed attempts of committing acts of terrorism, he finally gives up and calls The Phantom: sworn enemy of The Zohan from the Middle East.

While this movie could be considered one of the silliest productions Happy Madison has ever made, it is also too ridiculous to dislike. From the scene where The Phantom and Zohan fight to the death by playing paddleball with a grenade, to the characters using a cat to play hack sack with, you may find yourself laughing at the sheer absurdity of the jokes rather than the jokes themselves.

Like every Sandler movie, You Don't Mess With The Zohan is riddled with cameo appearances of all of his friends. Chris Rock plays a Jamaican cab driver who welcomes Zohan to the states. Kevin Nealon plays a scared stiff Community watch Volunteer. But the best appearance is by John Turturro who plays The Phantom.

Adam Sandler loves dancing around the line that separates crudeness that is funny, and crudeness that is simply curde. You Don't Mess With The Zohan lands nicely on the funny side of the line.

While the movie is no feat of cinema, you are never able to bring yourself around to hating it. And, for a movie about an Israeli counter terrorist who fakes his own death in order to go to America to pursue his true dream of cutting and styling hair in order to make it "Silky smooth," it pulls off the premise well to be the DVD pick of the week.

Other movies that will be released on DVD this week are The Happening, M. Night Shyamalan's latest thriller staring Mark Wallburg The Visitor about a College Professor (Richard Jenkins) who finds illegal aliens living in his house. TV seasons being released on DVD this week includes, "The Simpsons" season 11, "Robot Chicken" season three and "30 Rock" season two. Also, Special editions of Disney's Sleeping Beauty, Rob Zombie's Halloween, and Tim Burton's Beetle Juice will be released, to help get you in the mood for Halloween.