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Israeli soldier Zohan (Adam Sandler) fakes his own death so he can travel to New York and pursue his true passion: hairstyling. There he takes work in a salon owned by a beautiful Palestinian woman (Emmanuelle Chriqui) and eventually rekindles his feud with his old nemesis Phantom (John Turturro).

Big question: Can a script co-written by Sandler, Robert Smigel and, yes, Judd Apatow help "Zohan" improve upon the atrocious "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry"?

Catch it: The film will do absolutely anything for a laugh--from Zohan using a cat as a hacky sack to using hummus for everything to his extensive wardrobe of Mariah Carey T-shirts--and another winner always follows the many groan-inducing misfires. (How about a moratorium on Mel Gibson gags?) "Zohan" won't make you feel very good about your own intelligence, but it is the funniest Adam Sandler movie since "Big Daddy."

Skip it: If you can't bear the thought of Zohan getting busy with all the old women who come into the salon, doing the deed after he cuts their hair and thrusts his crotch in their face. Where do they find elderly actresses willing to do this?

Bottom line: Sandler won't make another respectable comedy until he lays off the hypocrisy. (Why does the attempt to respect Middle Eastern culture include condescending jokes about an Arab cab driver, unfortunately played by Rob Schneider, missing his beloved goat?) But no one else could so determinedly take a ridiculous setup involving Middle Eastern tensions, coat it with Cro-Magnon perceptions of women and turn it into a completely idiotic but pretty damn funny story of open-minded togetherness.

Bonus: At last, a film that's willing to show a man catching a fish with his buttcheeks and playing tug-of-war with a bull. If only we could interview the animals about what it was like to film these scenes.

Video: Watch the review of 'Zohan'

What do you think of 'Zohan'? Email me: mpais@tribune.com

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