‘Zohan’ uses right formula

‘Don’t Mess with the Zohan’
Stars: Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider
Director: Dennis Dugan
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy

REVIEW. For all its perceived shock value, all the concern that a comedy about conflict in the Middle East would offend just about everyone imaginable, “Zohan” is really rather conventional and familiar. At its core, it’s just “Romeo and Juliet,” wrapped in Adam Sandler’s trademark raunchy humor.

Sandler stars as the titular character, an Israeli commando who fakes his own death to escape to the United States and pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a hairdresser. He’s a superhuman trained killer, but all he wants to do is make people “silky smooth,” one of many jokes that get repeated ad nauseam in Dennis Dugan’s overlong movie. While in New York, he wows his older female customers with his sexual prowess (and the haircuts he copies from his 1987 Paul Mitchell book), but he also finds he’s fallen for his boss, Dalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui), a salon owner who happens to be Palestinian.

He also must elude a group of Arabs, led by cab driver Salim (old “SNL” buddy Rob Schneider), who want to report Zohan’s existence to the Palestinian terrorist (John Turturro) who thought he’d killed him.

Sandler co-wrote the script with longtime friends and comedy titans Robert Smigel and Judd Apatow, so it features smarter and more grown-up laughs than you would expect from a typical Happy Madison Production. With its messages of acceptance and reconciliation, the film’s heart is certainly in the right place. And with cameos from Mariah Carey, Charlotte Rae, George Takei and Dave Matthews, it’s got to feature the most random cross-section of humanity since “Zoolander.” Mostly, though, it’s just plain silly.