You Don’t Mess with the Zohan
June 6

Israel makes military service compulsory for its citizens, but this Adam Sandler vehicle—which appears to be a sincere-yet-funny plea for peace—rests on the notion that some Israelis want nothing more than to settle down and live out a real-life version of Shampoo (1975). Sandler plays Zohan, a highly trained Mossad operative who ditches Israel to work as a flamboyant Manhattan hairdresser. Underrated as an actor (boom!—that’s the sound of our Chicago Film Critics Association membership spontaneously combusting), Sandler here appears to be in his grating, manic-accented mode. But he wrote the script with Judd Apatow and Saturday Night Live animator Robert Smigel, so who knows?

CLOWN OPINION
Zimmy the clown (a.k.a. David Ziemba), Glenn David Productions (800-887-3517, glenndavidproductions.com)

A self-described “clown since birth,” the 28-year-old Ziemba not only does clown performance art, he lives it, too. Residing in the Orphanage, an alternative artist collective in Bridgeport, Ziemba keeps his act fresh by surrounding himself with creatives.

Reasons to be hopeful “It looks like it’s pretty funny. I’m also inspired by his clothing. I have a T-shirt that says MR. FABULOUS and he seems to be fabulous as well. We have a lot in common with our fabulousness.”

Possible pitfalls “I didn’t really like the weird scene where [Sandler] kicks this guy in the face while standing straight up. It was just too fake.”

Adam Sandler’s clown name? “Sandy Adams”

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