Living with Zohan

An Adam Sandler movie makes Chuck reflect on what pushed him to follow his dreams.

By Chuck Nice

I'm not a huge fan of Adam Sandler, although I think he is exceptionally talented. That may sound like a contradiction, but his movies just don't make me laugh, although I do admire his work and accomplishments as a comic. So I was very surprised to find Don't Mess With the Zohan to be a funny and entertaining movie that made me laugh, despite the fact that I was prejudiced before I ever entered the theater. I was also surprised to find that the two central themes in the movie hit really close to home: Follow your dream no matter how silly others may believe it to be, and when your Jewish son brings home a smoking hot Palestinian girl, be happy for him.

Briefly, Zohan is a member of the Mossad (Israeli secret service) who tires of the hatred and fighting and wants to leave his position and pursue a career as a hairdresser in New York. He is finally able to get work in a salon but his inexperience can only get him a job at a Palestinian shop, where he falls in love with the owner. It's your classic love story with fart jokes.

Like most men, I have been a secret agent in the safest way possible...in my mind. And luckily for women everywhere, I have never styled hair. But despite our differences, Zohan and I have two important similarities, the first of which takes me back 11 years to when I was working as a bartender, a comic, and a sales representative in Philadelphia. It was a glamorous life filled with travel (from one job to the other) and beautiful people (after I had knocked back several cocktails). One day, while serving drinks to people whose lives were better than mine, a patron I had never seen before walked into my bar. He ordered a drink and immediately started chewing on my ear--don't worry, I always kept a set of prosthetic ears for customers to chew on; they were spearmint flavored. This stranger told me I was funny and asked me what it was that I did other than bartending. I guess it's difficult to believe that anyone would choose bartending as a profession unless they plan on never growing up and developing a serious drug habit. I told him that I was also a stand-up comic, and he promptly laughed at me said "If you want to be a sailor you better get on a boat." His point, very simply, was that I couldn't be a stand-up comic from behind a bar in Philadelphia, and he was right. But I was afraid to leave all that I had behind: the great apartment (a one-bedroom with the kitchen in the living room), my two awesome jobs (translation: I hated them), not to mention the glamorous people and the chance to develop that nasty little drug habit. So now what was I to do? This stranger called me onto the carpet and made me realize that I was fooling myself into believing that I was actually chasing my dream when in reality I was hiding from it behind a bar. The person who most found my dream to be silly was me. That was the day I decided to move to New York City and pursue my dream of being a professional comic. So far it's worked out, even though it's been a lot tougher than I ever imagined, but I am thoroughly convinced that no matter what happens, it has been worth it. I used to think it was so corny whenever I heard someone say "follow your dream," but it's not. Those that think so are probably hiding from their dream behind a bar, or a desk, or a marriage, or some other clever example that I can't think of at the moment.

Well, now you know how Zohan and I are alike with respect to the pursuit of a dream, but how are we alike when it comes to dating superhot Palestinian shopkeepers? You'll have to find that out in my next blog. Wow! My first tease and it felt good. I think I'll just soak in this moment.