''The Hebrew Hammer'' is a 2003 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by

Jonathan Kesselman Jonathan Kesselman (born 1974) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, who first gained notice as the writer and director of ''The Hebrew Hammer'' (2003). Early life Kesselman grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. ...

. It stars Adam Goldberg,

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...

, Andy Dick,

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991 and '' USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Va ...

, and Peter Coyote. The plot concerns a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...

crime fighter known as the Hebrew Hammer who must save

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

from the evil son of

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

, who wants to destroy Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and make everyone celebrate

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. The film parodies blaxploitation films, and features Melvin Van Peebles in a cameo as "

Sweetback ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'' is a 1971 American blaxploitation film written, co-produced, scored, edited, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles. His son Mario Van Peebles also appears in a small role, playing the title character ...

Plot

The film begins with a flashback to a young Mordechai Jefferson Carver. At school, Mordechai is tormented by his fellow students and his teacher for being a Jewish child in a public school predominantly attended by Christians, and for celebrating Hanukkah while everyone else celebrates Christmas. He feels further alienated as he walks through his neighborhood and sees a seemingly endless number of Christmas decorations and window displays celebrating the holiday and announcing that Jews aren't welcome. As he lies down on the sidewalk in front of a store saying "Jews 'OK' (for about 5 minutes)" and spins his

dreidel A dreidel, also dreidle or dreidl ( ; yi, דרײדל, dreydl, plural: ''dreydlech''; he, סביבון, sevivon) is a four-sided spinning top, played during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The dreidel is a Jewish variant on the teetotum, a gamb ...

to cheer himself up, Santa Claus walks by and crushes the toy under his foot, then gives Mordechai the

finger A finger is a limb of the body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of most of the Tetrapods, so also with humans and other primates. Most land vertebrates have five fingers ( Pentadactyly). Chambers ...

. The scene then changes to the present with Mordechai as the Hebrew Hammer, a certified

circumcised Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...

dick Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

" who has dedicated his life to defending Jews. His snappy dress (a cross between that of a pimp and a

Hasidic Jew Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

) and tough-guy demeanor have made him a local hero within the Jewish community. Jews and African-Americans have enjoyed a tenuous peace with the White Christians over the previous few decades because the current Santa (the son of the cruel Santa who stomped Mordechai's dreidel years earlier) has pursued a policy of inclusion and tolerance. This Santa is murdered and replaced by his son, Damian, who seeks to destroy Hanukkah and Kwanzaa thus reserving December for Christmas alone. Mordechai is reluctantly recruited to stop Damian, gaining allies along the way, including love interest and daughter of the Chief of the Jewish Justice League Esther Bloomenbergensteinenthal and the Kwanzaa Liberation Front's leader Mohammed Ali Paula Abdul Rahim. The fight takes them to exotic locales such as

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, K-Mart, the Jewish Atomic Clock outside

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and the final battle at the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

Cast

* Adam Goldberg as Mordechai Jefferson Carver / The Hebrew Hammer **

Grant Rosenmeyer Grant Mandel Rosenmeyer (born July 3, 1991) is an American actor and screenwriter best known for his roles in ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' and on the FOX television sitcom ''Oliver Beene''. Early life and education Rosenmeyer was born in Manhasset ...

as young Mordechai *

as Esther Bloomenbergensteinenthal * Andy Dick as Damian Claus *

as Mohammed Ali

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

Rahim * Peter Coyote as Jewish Justice League Chief Bloomenbergensteinenthal * Nora Dunn as Mrs. Carver *

Sean Whalen Sean Whalen (born May 19, 1964) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his work in numerous TV shows, including ''Shannon's Deal'' and ''Grace Under Fire'', as well as movies, including ''The People Under the Stairs'' and ''Twister''. H ...

as Tiny Tim * Tony Cox as Jamal *

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. He portrayed Walt Finnerty on ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005) and The Warden on ''The Young and the Restless'' (2007). He also appeared in over 200 films, including '' Glory'' ...

as Santa * Melvin Van Peebles as

Rachel Dratch Rachel Susan Dratch (born February 22, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. After she graduated from Dartmouth College she moved to Chicago to study improvisational theatre at The Second City and ImprovOlympic. Her breakthrough ro ...

as Tikva *

Harrison Chad Harrison Chad is an American actor known for his roles in Broadway musicals, television, and film. Early life and education Chad was born in New York City and started performing when he was six years old. He has performed in four Broadway show ...

as Schlomo *

Annie McEnroe Anne McEnroe (born c.1956) is an American actress who had roles in the 1980s and 1990s, including ''Wall Street'' and ''Beetlejuice''. She is married to Edward R. Pressman Edward Rambach Pressman (April 11, 1943 – January 17, 2023) was an Ame ...

as Mrs. Highsmith * Elaine Hendrix as Blonde bombshell * Ed Koch as himself * Jimmy Walsh as Freckle-Faced Gentile *

Jason Fuchs Jason Isaac Fuchs (born March 5, 1986) is an American actor and screenwriter, best known for writing ''Ice Age: Continental Drift'' (2012), ''Pan (2015 film), Pan'' (2015) and ''Wonder Woman (2017 film), Wonder Woman'' (2017). He is also known f ...

as Adolescent Hasidic Boy

Controversy

''The Hebrew Hammer'' parodies many common

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

s about Jews. During filming, the movie came to the attention of the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

, which were concerned that it might promote unfavorable images of Jews; the film happens to include a direct parody of the ADL as members of the fictional Jewish Justice League. After viewing the film, Warren Katz of the ADL brought legal action against the producers of the film but lost in a summary ruling handed down by the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The film also drew criticism from some Christian groups, who argued that the film portrayed most Christians as being anti-Semitic and intolerant. Many scenes were shot in Borough Park,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, which has a large community of Hasidic Jews. Filmmakers were initially concerned that members of the Hasidic community might protest the movie, as they did with the 1998 film ''

A Price Above Rubies ''A Price Above Rubies'' is a 1998 British-American drama film written and directed by Boaz Yakin and starring Renée Zellweger. The story centers on a young woman who finds it difficult to conform to the restrictions imposed on her by her communi ...

'', and shut down filming. The reaction of the Hasidim in Borough Park was mixed, however. No organized protest was pursued, and some residents of the neighborhood agreed to appear as extras in the film.

Reception

The film received a rating of 52% on aggregate review site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

Sequel

In 2017, plans for a sequel titled ''The Hebrew Hammer Vs. Hitler'' were announced. The sequel will be funded in part by crowd funding. It will begin in the present day, with the Hammer coming out of retirement to fight the increase in racism brought on by Donald Trump's election. He does this by going back in time to fight the worst source of antisemitism in the 20th century.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hebrew Hammer, The 2003 films American Christmas films Comedy Central films Films about Jews and Judaism Films about race and ethnicity Films set in Israel Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Hanukkah films Jewish comedy and humor Santa Claus in television Religious comedy films American action comedy films 2000s action comedy films American vigilante films American parody films 2000s parody films 2000s vigilante films American exploitation films 2003 comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films Santa Claus in film