Someone was nice enough to post The Hebrew Hammer on YouTube. It's a 2003 film written and directed by Jonathan Kesselman. It's got Adam Goldberg, Judy Greer, Andy Dick, Mario Van Peebles, and Peter Coyote. Adam is a Certified Circumcised Dick called the Hebrew Hammer. In the movie he's trying to save Hanukkah from Damian Claus, the evil son of Santa Claus, who wants to destroy Hanukkah and Kwanzaa so he can force everyone to celebrate Christmas. Andy Dick plays Damian and he's a character that lives up to the actors last name really well. He even murders his dad so he can pursuit his evil plan. I've been a Judy Greer fan ever since seeing her in The Specials and she does a good job here. There's plenty of Jewish humor but you don't need to be Jewish to enjoy it. It didn't do well at the Box Office and I'm sure not many people saw it. I first saw it on Comedy Central and had to buy the DVD when it came out. I'd recommend it to those that like Hebrew humor or something out of the ordinary. It's got a nice absurd streak. According to the Wikipedia there was a bit of a controversay that happened before the film was made.
The Hebrew Hammer parodies many common stereotypes about Jews. During filming, the movie came to the attention of the Anti-Defamation League, who 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. Additionally, many Christian groups argued that the film portrayed most Christians as anti-Semitic and intolerant. After viewing the film, Warren Katz of the Anti-Defamation League brought legal action against the producers of the film, but lost in a summary ruling handed down by the U.S. District Court – Northern District of New York.
Looks like nothing much came of the hoopla. I didn't find it offensive but I'm no where near the norm on that sort of thing. Maybe you'll like it. Maybe you won't. I'll probably never know.
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