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The Hammer
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Metascore
57 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critics What's this?

User Score
9.4 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 29 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Adam Carolla, Heather Juergensen, Oswaldo Castillo
  • Summary: Jerry Ferro's 40th birthday has brought his life into sharp relief, and it's not a pretty picture. A once-promising amateur boxer who quit so he wouldn't risk his perfect record of underachievement, Jerry has been knocking around from one construction job to another and spinning his wheels in an unsatisfying relationship, all the while with an eye toward eventually getting his shit together. His last connection to the fight game is the evening boxing class he teaches to middle-aged, middle-class, middle-management types at a gym in Pasadena, where he also works as a handyman. When venerable boxing coach Eddie Bell asks Jerry if he'd like to spar a couple of rounds with Malice Blake, an up-and-coming pro, Jerry reluctantly steps into the ring. Despite the butt-kicking Jerry otherwise receives, a one-punch knockdown of Blake convinces Jerry that it's time to make his return to competitive boxing. Thus ends a 20-year layoff and begins a hilarious fish-out-of-water quest for Olympic gold. (Independent Film Circuit)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    75
    The Hammer benefits from Carolla's low-energy, low-impact style. He doesn't so much deliver quips as let them dribble out the side of his mouth.
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Stephen Farber
    60
    The film hardly could be credited with breaking any new ground, but it has a hangdog charm, much like its leading actor.
  3. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Bill White
    25
    Plays like a pilot for a situation comedy about a 40-year-old carpenter who decides to return to the boxing ring.

See all 12 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. HeatherR.
    10
    This movie was very charming and a great breakout work for Adam! Go Ace Man!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. TomL.
    10
    A rare gem. If your more than burned out on 100 million dollar Hollywood crap, take a chance on this. I can't believe more screens didn't pick this up. Well, leftist PC Hollywood doesn't give it's stamp of approval I guess.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. DerekG
    10
    I went in to The Hammer expecting the worst: Two hours of Carolla's frank, dry observational humor with a tacked on story. What I got was a surprisingly deep and even touching story of a 40 year old never-was trying to make something of himself. The acting is all charming and well casted, the music is top notch for an independent project, and it all works very well. I was on the brink of tears when I wasn't laughing out loud.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 17 User Reviews

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