"You Don't Mess With the Zohan," but he certainly messes with you. After all, this is another overbearing Adam Sandler comedy. He plays an Israeli counterterrorism agent-turned-American hairdresser preaching that Jews and Palestinians need to get along. It's hard to disagree with that message, but the messenger is so disagreeable!

Sandler really leans on the material here. There's nothing subtle about his thick accent, the satire of ethnic stereotypes and the humanistic message that might as well be shouted through a megaphone. A few genuinely funny scenes along the way are crushed by other scenes that thematically club you over the head.

The blunt script by Sandler, Judd Apatow and Robert Smigel is so determined to get its sociological points across that characters aren't given much chance to breathe as individuals. As Zohan, Sandler is a live-action cartoon figure as he deftly pulls off martial arts moves in his job as an Israeli counterterrorism operative. This is mildly amusing in a slapstick sort of way, but some of it's just plain stupid.

When Zohan tangles with a comic book-worthy villain named Phantom (John Turturro), you get the sense that Sandler wants to appeal to his traditional fan base and then kick the story forward into more serious considerations. Perhaps that's a viable strategy, but it also makes it more difficult to ever take later scenes seriously. Of course, you also find yourself wondering why such a fine actor as Turturro is slumming in this Sandler vehicle.

In any event, the movie is still in silly mode when the tough guy Zohan confesses that he always wanted to be a hairdresser. Inspired by old copies of American hair stylist Paul Mitchell's publications, Zohan aspires to do "silky smooth" hair styles that would be perfectly at home in a disco 20 years ago.

Unlike his espionage job, hair care is a more nurturing profession. Hoping to escape the terrorists out to get him and also hoping to make a new life for himself, Zohan moves to New York and goes to work in a salon run by an attractive Palestinian woman, Dalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui). This Israeli-Palestinian friendship certainly indicates where the movie is headed.

For all the predictability and low jokes along the way, "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" actually settles into a humorous groove in these salon scenes. Zohan is a seductively charming stylist who totally wins over the mature ladies who frequent this shop. Let's just say he turns the place into a full-service salon.

Sandler is in his element in these scenes, and even non-fans my find themselves giggling as he washes, teases, and so on. Before long there is a line of ladies anxious to let Zohan run his fingers through their hair. His amorous banter isn't exactly politically correct, but Zohan is such a sincere hedonist that he seems like somebody who just wants to please the ladies.

An earlier Sandler comedy might have kept things at that level and at least qualified as escapist entertainment, but the seriously goofy plot shows how the Jews and Palestinians working in this New York neighborhood learn lessons about getting along. There are other lessons about how the true enemy is a real estate czar who wants to bulldoze their humanitarian paradise in the name of ruthless capitalism. Oh, and the Phantom's forces are still lurking.

The Dennis Dugan-directed script never exactly stalls, but it does tend to dwell on the most thematically obvious points. This movie's cartoonishly simple strategy for world peace is more likely to be greeted with a scoff than with a sniffle.

It doesn't help any that the generally broad acting is like a constant elbow to the ribs. Although Emmanuelle Chriqui's touchingly understated performance as the Palestinian owner of a New York salon suggests the mature comedy that might have been, most of the other actors are in comedy sketch routines.

When Sandler aims for gentle and sentimental effects, he still has Zohan conducting himself like a martial arts enthusiast emoting to fans high up in the bleachers. This is so much the case that the infamously extroverted Lainie Kazan as Zohan's mother seems relatively shy by comparison. Even a lousy actress, singer Mariah Carey appearing as herself, manages to seem more convincing than he does. Grade: C

"You Don't Mess With the Zohan" (PG-13) is now playing at area theaters.

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