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Hebrew Hammer, The

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Hebrew Hammer, The reviews
41
7.4 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 13 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 5 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy

Written by: Jonathan Kesselman

Directed by: Jonathan Kesselman

Release Date:
Theatrical: December 19, 2003
DVD: November 16, 2004

Running Time: 85 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R

Starring Adam Goldberg, Judy Greer, Andy Dick, Mario Van Peebles, Peter Coyote, Sean Whalen, Tony Cox, and Nora Dunn

By creating The Hebrew Hammer, writer/director Kesselman has brought to life a character rarely seen in Hollywood or off-Hollywood films: a sexy and powerful Jewish action hero. (ContentFilm)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

A wickedly funny, Naked Gun-style parody that conflates old-style private-eye pics with Shaft and, yes, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

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60

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

You don't have to be Jewish to love Jonathan Kesselman's uneven, profane and occasionally flat-out hilarious parody of vintage blaxploitation pictures, but it helps.

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60

Film Threat Staff (Not credited)

Writer/director John Kesselman serves up a stylin' live-action spoof that irreverently milks stereotypes and bravely pokes fun at that which is usually sacrosanct.

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50

Variety David Rooney

Although amusing as often as not, the material remains more comedy-sketch fodder than a fully developed feature.

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50

New York Post Megan Lehmann

A hit-and-miss affair.

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50

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

This circumcised "Shaft" plays half-awesome, half-aw-shit; it exists almost as if to prove you can cram every Jewish joke in the Old Testament into a single movie.

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40

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Ultimately more interested in exploiting clichés than subverting or commenting on them, and Coyote and Dunn's grotesque caricatures are embarrassing.

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40

Village Voice J. Hoberman

The result is explicit, if less than hilarious. The Hebrew Hammer lacks the edge of Adam Sandler's "Chanukah Song," although as anti-seasonal fare, it would make a suitably unbearable double bill with Terry Zwigoff's "Bad Santa."

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40

LA Weekly Robert Abele

But the corker-to-groaner ratio heavily favors the latter as the bagel-and-dreidel jokes begin to lose their spark, as does the story

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40

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Would have worked brilliantly as a five-minute late-night comedy sketch, flogs its premise for nearly an hour and a half, generating too few laughs to justify the enterprise.

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30

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Unfunny rather than outrageous as intended.

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30

Washington Post Mark Jenkins

Desperation is the project's principal quality, characterizing everything from the misfiring jokes to the surprisingly distinguished cast.

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20

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

A crass, sophomoric and, more to the point, offensively unfunny parody that sets out to remake Shaft and his blaxploitation ilk as a Jewish action hero.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

rate r gave it a10:
Hillarious movie, many people will not understand most of the jokes though.

M Lee gave it a7:
This movie was a fun movie. It doesn't take itself too seriously. So, if you'd rather be PC, get over yourself and see another moive...

Anton M. gave it a 10:
Really hilarious, sharp satire. Funniest movie I've seen in a long, long time-- and it's really original, non-formula stuff.

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