You Don't Mess with the Zohan

Directed by Dennis Dugan, starring Adam Sandler, John Turturro

Adam Sandler's attempt to satirize the Israeli-Arab conflict in his new movie might not contribute too much to peace in the Middle East.

The story revolves around the unlikely character of Zohan, "the greatest soldier Israel has ever known", a man likened by his father to "Rembrandt with a hand grenade," who one sunny day decides that his killing time is over. Instead he wants to flee his life of battling Arab terrorists, and settle for the simple life of a New York hairstylist.

Of course it doesn't work out the way he wants as his Palestinian nemesis comes after him. But along the way Zohan generously provides a full sexual service to many of his elderly clients and has time to learn some new home truths about the intricacies of the interminable Middle East conflict.

Sandler, whose Jewish heritage is well known, tries to avoid singling out either side for blame. In his movie, Israelis seem overconfident and oversexed while Palestinians bluff and bumble their actions. But with the movie's "why can't we all live together" plea symbolized by a joint love of hummus, it's unlikely to make anyone reexamine their political concepts in the way that Borat forced many Americans to face up to the shortcomings of their culture.

Despite the subject matter, Sandler doesn't seem at ease in making anything but the blandest political comments - and there's no doubt that he struggled to find the right tone in the eight years that it took to bring the film from interesting idea to box-office blockbuster.

There are jokes about a Hezbollah phone line that withholds bomb-making instructions during peace talks with the Israelis, and caricatures of soothing Jewish mothers.

But the majority of laughs are at the expense of Arab characters, a fact that did not overly trouble Egyptian-born Sayed Badreya, who plays one of Zohan's New York adversaries, and who called the film a step in the right direction of reversing Hollywood's usual stereotypes.