I Like Adam Sandler

I am an Adam Sandler fan, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I have a feeling I'm a little outside the norm here.

From what I can see, people think his humour is juvenile, slapstick, schtick-y in general, empty, predictable, scatalogical, and more along those lines.

From what I can see, Sandler makes me laugh -- and he makes me cry! Two of the greatest qualities in an actor, if you ask me.

Punch-drunk Love. Funny People. Grown Ups. Fifty First Dates. Fast Forward. Five great movies. I also liked Spanglish and Anger Management. I really want to see Reign over Me and Bedtime Stories (but they're not on Netflicks, so I have to work a little harder for them). Granted, I hated Just go for it.  And bad reviews have kept me away from Jack and Jill.

But one of his greatest, which was also written by Sandler, is You Don't Mess with the Zohan. I watched it the other day. Just for a lark, because I'm a fan. What a pleasant surprise! 

In what other movie does the main character, an Israeli counter-terrorist army commando who fakes his own death so he can move to New York and pursue his dream of becoming a hairstylist, admit that his very prominent package, which features prominently and suggestively in the plot, adding to the macho mystique of this ninja-like freedom fighter, is not the biggest schlong in the world (which we've been assuming for most of the film) but actually the biggest bush in the world? "Women like that," he says. "They like a nice soft pillow." 

He's a killing machine because he happens to be good at that, and his parents are really proud of his line of work. But more importantly he's a rich character who just loves women--even older women and old women! He likes to make women happy.

He finally gets his big break in a Palestinian-run hair salon in New York, and what has the women lining up around the block is his "soft and silky" treatment which occurs in a back room, and messes up his clients' hair something bad.

The clients are older women, women in their seventies and eighties. And maybe you think that's demeaning, but I find it adorable. The Zohan just loves women, all women! He wants them to feel good. 

There's more, but those are the parts that I love. I love his whole package: the humour, the unpredictability, and the menschlichkeit of his characters.