The Hebrew Hammer (2003)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Jonathan Kesselman

Writer:

Jonathan Kesselman (writer)

Release Date:

25 March 2004 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Part man. Part street. 100% kosher.

Plot:

An orthodox Jewish blaxploitation hero saves Hanukkah from the clutches of Santa Claus's evil son.

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Hanukkah | Blaxploitation | Shotgun | Cult Favorite

Cast

Adam Goldberg	...	Mordechai Jefferson Carver
Judy Greer	...	Esther Bloomenbergensteinenthal
Andy Dick	...	Damian Claus
Mario Van Peebles	...	Mohammed Ali Paula Abdul Rahim
Peter Coyote	...	JJL Chief Bloomenbergensteinenthal
Nora Dunn	...	Mrs. Carver
Sean Whalen	...	Tiny Tim
Tony Cox	...	Jamal
Richard Riehle	...	Santa
Melvin Van Peebles	...	Sweetback
Rachel Dratch	...	Tikva
Harrison Chad	...	Schlomo
Jim Petersmith	...	Skinhead Bartender
Annie McEnroe	...	Mrs. Highsmith
Grant Rosenmeyer	...	Young Mordechai

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some sexual references and drug use.

Runtime:

85 min | Argentina:87 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew | Yiddish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:Unrated | USA:R | Australia:M | Argentina:13

Company:

Intrinsic Value Films

Trivia:

Adam Goldberg claims that he knew he had to do this movie as soon as he read the line "Shabbat shalom, motherfuckers!"

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the Hammer is in his car, it has a normal Florida license plate. When there is close up, it shows that it is a New York license vanity plate that says "L'CHAIM". This is seen later in the movie when he talks to Shlomo and gives him a tape from the trunk.

Quotes:

Mordechai Jefferson Carver: [praying with tefillin] Baruch atah adonoi... I don't know what the hell I'm saying.
Mohammed Ali Paula Abdul Rahim: What you doing?
Mordechai Jefferson Carver: I'm prayin' to God we don't kill ourselves gettin' over this wall.

Movie Connections:

References Julius Caesar (1953)

Jokes wore thin very quickly

I picked up this movie because it caught my eye as movie with a Jewish comedy focus - something I had not seen before.

I approached this film with an open mind, and was interested in the way it began. The opening is well put together, and the first half of the film gave me many reasons to laugh, and this is good.

However, the humor soon became repetitive, the plot became confused and strained, and I realized I was no longer enjoying the film. I have tried to avoid saying this, but the movie became rather "cheap" - not a bad thing for a comedy if the humor holds up, but it didn't. I confess that I may have missed some of the humour, not being Jewish myself, and having little experience with Jewish culture. However, considering how heavily telegraphed the bulk of the humour was in this film, it's unlikely I missed much.

The idea is a good one, and perhaps if a little more thought was put into it the film would have been watchable all the way through. I wish I could give the movie a higher rating, but strictly speaking it would have been better as a TV series or as a series of skits. There was just not enough worthwhile fresh material for a full-length movie.

One thing to say about the casting - the lead role looked as if it had been designed with Ben Stiller in mind, but I don't think the movie would have been any more worthwhile if he had been in it.