IMDb RATING
6.1/10
5.1K
YOUR RATING
An orthodox Jewish blaxploitation hero saves Hanukkah from the clutches of Santa Claus' evil son.An orthodox Jewish blaxploitation hero saves Hanukkah from the clutches of Santa Claus' evil son.An orthodox Jewish blaxploitation hero saves Hanukkah from the clutches of Santa Claus' evil son.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAdam Goldberg claims that he knew he had to do this movie as soon as he read the line "Shabbat shalom, motherfuckers!"
- GoofsMordechai 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.
- Quotes
Mordechai Jefferson Carver: Shabbat shalom, motherfuckers!
- Crazy credits"No animals or gentiles were harmed in the making of this movie" appears in the closing credits.
- Alternate versionsWhen 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.
- ConnectionsFollowed by The Hebrew Hammer vs. Hitler
Featured review
Not Terrible, But Not Great
The concept is good, the performances are good, but this film is too uneven to be great. Writer/director Jonathan Kesselman should've watched the much better blaxploitation parody "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!" a few times and thought harder about *why* it's a good parody. Even then, that film, too, could have been improved.
When you do satire, you get the best results when you stick pretty closely to your target. The funniest moments in "The Hebrew Hammer" are those in which it really mirrors blaxploitation films. When it degenerates into really broad parody, lame social commentary, and random jokes about Jewish stereotypes, it goes downhill quickly.
That's too bad, because the principle cast really does do an excellent job. The villains are weaker than the heroes -- conceptually and by performance -- but I can't really blame the actors (much as I might be tempted to blame Andy Dick) because the villains are *too* over-the-top just as they're written.
Satire works as comedy because it keeps moving back and forth over the line of plausibility -- or, at least, the line of genre convention. "The Hebrew Hammer" has many good moments but, in the end, it strays too far, too often. There's about thirty minutes of really good material in there.
When you do satire, you get the best results when you stick pretty closely to your target. The funniest moments in "The Hebrew Hammer" are those in which it really mirrors blaxploitation films. When it degenerates into really broad parody, lame social commentary, and random jokes about Jewish stereotypes, it goes downhill quickly.
That's too bad, because the principle cast really does do an excellent job. The villains are weaker than the heroes -- conceptually and by performance -- but I can't really blame the actors (much as I might be tempted to blame Andy Dick) because the villains are *too* over-the-top just as they're written.
Satire works as comedy because it keeps moving back and forth over the line of plausibility -- or, at least, the line of genre convention. "The Hebrew Hammer" has many good moments but, in the end, it strays too far, too often. There's about thirty minutes of really good material in there.
- How long is The Hebrew Hammer?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $82,157
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $19,539
- Dec 21, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $94,615
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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