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:

He's Not Bad, He's Cha-baad.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexual references and drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the time of the movie's release, the movie had it's own website which featured trailers and an interactive version of the game Space Invaders called Gentile Invaders, which featured a menorah as the player icon at the bottom of the screen which you moved right and left while shooting upward towards the Invaders that dropped swastikas.

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Goofs

In the beginning when young Mordechai is walking down the street after school, the parking meters are the modern electronic LCD-screen type, not the mechanical dial type of the 70s or 80s when this scene most likely takes place.

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Quotes

Mordechai Jefferson Carver: Shabbat shalom, motherfuckers!

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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 Mike Hammer (1958)

User Reviews

Serious Business, This

I admit a weakness for these types of self-conscious parodies when done well.

For me, that means a mix of riches. First, it has to be brutal. There's no sense in toying with something stupid and at time showing sympathy for that stupidity. All the better if the targets of the thing have some sort of societal proscription.

MASH was funny (when it was) because it treated war like something completely without honor or value. Anything that Mel Brooks does fails the brutality test. He's merely juvenile, and not ashamed to shift perspectives for a giggle.

This is funny because it destroys two boundaries. The most obvious is the Jewish stereotype. Yes, it exists. Yes, like any other group, they identify themselves, quite actively bending their lives, by drifting toward those very characteristics as a matter of definition.

There's a long tradition of stage humor where Jews make fun of themselves and I assert that all these societal parodies spring from it, at least in the US.

But the other bit is ever so clever. What they've built on is a pastiche of blaxploitation movies (and a few others as well). Part of the cleverness is in revealing these things to be even dumber than we readily admit; they take us to extremes we wouldn't otherwise go. Its a bit risky, that.

So we have a triple layer here: Jews making fun of the kind of Jewishness they cling to. All of us making fun of a similar dynamic in blacks that black culture isn't mature enough to disparage. (Though half of Chris Rock's stuff comes close.) And on top of that we get some posturing, not much, but some that rigorously belittles us for being the moviewatchers we are. In recent memory the second Charlies Angels did it best, but there wasn't the delicious edge this has.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

Details

Official Sites:

official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hebrew Yiddish

Release Date:

25 March 2004 (Australia)

Also Known As:

The Hebrew Hammer

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,539, 21 December 2003

Gross USA:

$82,157

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$94,615

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