The Hebrew Hammer (2003)

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

Director:

Jonathan Kesselman

Writer:

Jonathan Kesselman

Stars:

Adam Goldberg, Andy Dick, Judy Greer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Mordechai Jefferson Carver, aka the Hebrew Hammer, is an orthodox Jewish stud who goes on a mission to save Hanukkah. When Santa Claus's evil son Damian is pushed over the edge by his father's liberal policies, he does away with the Christian patriarch. Subsequently stepping into his father's role, Damian launches a campaign to eradicate the Jewish Holiday. The Hammer joins forces with Esther Bloomenbergensteinenthal, the gorgeous and dangerous daughter of the leader of the Jewish Justice League; and his brother-in-arms Mohammed Ali Paula Abdul Rahim, the head of the Kwanzaa Liberation Front, to topple Santa's evil progeny and to save Hanukkah for future generations of Jews.

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Plot Keywords:

jewish | hanukkah | kwanzaa | blaxploitation | santa claus | 

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Taglines:

This Hanukkah, All He Wants For Christmas Are Santa's Two Front Teeth

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexual references and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hebrew Yiddish

Release Date:

25 March 2004 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Hammer o exolothreftis

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,539, 21 December 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$19,539, 21 December 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Intrinsic Value Films, Comedy Central Films, ContentFilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

Mordechai is portrayed as a faithful Orthodox Jew, but during a scene with his shirt off, the morning after Mordechai and Esther make love, it's clear that Mordechai has several tattoos, which are forbidden in traditional Judaism. Adam Goldberg has stated in interviews that the only reason for this is that he was too lazy to get up early in the morning to have the makeup artists cover up the tattoos. The tattoos go without comment in the dialogue because, according to director Jonathan Kesselman, the Hebrew Hammer has already gone against tradition by engaging in premarital sex, and so a couple tattoos are nothing compared to that.

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Quotes

Mordechai Jefferson Carver: Wait, wait hold on a sec. I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. I'm now going to resort to the most dangerous, deadly weapon in the Jewish arsenal.
[briefly meditates, then continues in a nasal voice]
Mordechai Jefferson Carver: What, I shlep all the way up here for this? I come all the way to the North Pole to fight you; you don't put out anything to nosh on?
Damian Claus: You're hungry?
Mordechai Jefferson Carver: I mean, seriously, what kind of arch-nemesis are you?
Damian Claus: Sorry, I wasn't thinking I guess. Oh! Oh, no, you don't! You're not ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

"No animals or gentiles were harmed in the making of this movie" appears in the closing credits.

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Alternate Versions

When the Hebrew Hammer enters the Duke's Nazi bar, he walks over to the Jukebox and plays a song. That song is played through the entire scene. However the Comedy Central and DVD versions of the movie each play a different song for the same scene.

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Connections

References The Powerpuff Girls (1998)

User Reviews

Gets a bit lame near the end, but until then it's a scream

Odd as it may sound, it takes a bit of brains to enjoy the Hebrew Hammer. The movie requires its viewers to have a fairly extensive knowledge of Jewish stereotypes, which is what the film lives off of, quite effectively

Not since Mel Brook's last good movie (Men in Tights) have I sampled Jewish humour this laugh out loud. It's wild and wacky, and despite pushing into the red zone, it's not all that offencive (unless you are orthodox). My dad is an extremely tough critic, and is easily offended by red zone stuff, but I got him to watch part of this, and he laughed.

The plot is deliberately cheesy. It concerns a pimping agent of a Jewish Justice League, who goes by the name of 'Hammer', and he takes on the mission to stop Santa Claus Jr. from destroying Chanukah (which he is unable to pronounce).

The jokes keep coming, and they never get tiring, but in the climactic twenty minutes, something goes wrong. The humour starts to disintegrate a bit (except for a funny cameo by Ed Koch) and the silliness of the plot ceases to wink at itself, It goes from satirical cliché to regular cliché (the hero must rescue his damsel in distress)

Well, no film is perfect. I suppose there is one other problem with the movie, but it's not as big a deal. I'm not realty sure who best to recommend it to. If I had to guess I would say this kind of stuff would be right for the same audience who embraces Team America. It is crude, crazy, satirical, but really funny.