DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN and THE LOVE GURU: Special 2 for 1 review!
Is your glass half empty or half full? Depending on your taste for funny films, you might have a full glass or go thirsty with these two movies. I include them for their similarities. Both movies have stereotypical crude depictions of Israelites and East Indians. Both movies use humor that is crude, immature or offensive. Both have guest cameo appearances or "star power". SO, if you are easily offended, don't see either. If you appreciate silly, dumb or moronic 'humor', you found it here!
In Don't Mess With the Zohan, Israeli Special Forces Soldier, Zohan Dvir (Adam Sandler)grows weary of his life and decides to follow his dream of "making people silky smooth" aka hair stylist. He fakes his own death and comes to America to cut hair at Paul Mitchell. When that doesn't work out plan B ensues and Zohan finds a niche. The rest of the movie rolls slow and the ending tries to wrap itself in a neat red bow. Personally, it was bearable at best and funny in only 3 or 4 minutes of screen time. The star power in this movie is: Mariah Carey, George Takei, Chris Rock, Lainie Kazan, and most magnificently, John Tuturro.
Mariska Hargitay, Love Guru. Of the two, Love Guru was a much more thoughtful movie. There was the obvious comedy and then the more dry 'asides' . This film understood the comedic bar and pushed way past it. Mike Myers is Guru Pitka, whose goal it is NOT to be a poor man's Deepak Chopra. He is hired by Jane Bullard, YAWN (Jessica Alba) to help a hockey player get back his game. In an extra, Meyers said it was his way of combining the things he likes most: hockey and Eastern Religion. The story line is pretty weak, but it also has some pretty good jokes. We hear Samuel Jackson's voice over and as the camera pans, we find Meyers talking into the microphone set on "Samuel Jackson". Hands down, this movie belonged to Justin Timberlake. Yes, that's right. He was hilarious as a French-Canadian sexy hockey player. Jacques Grande: "Don't look at me with that tone of voice or I will punch you in the shirt! " It was worth the bad parts just to see his performance. Lastly, this movie rules for its star power: Ben Kingsley, Jessica Simpson, Kayne West, Deepak Chopra, Stephen Colbert, Mariska Hargitay, and Val Kilmer. Let's face it. Neither film will end world hunger or cure AIDS. Neither film was so well done I wet myself. BUT, both films can be amusing if you have NO expectation of great film making. I enjoyed The Love Guru more than Zohan, but either work to distract from the election and all the silliness.
PICK: Even though I didn't care for either film, they were silly and entertaining to watch.
