Films like "Bad Santa" and "Elf" seem to be quite popular because both are not only great holiday movies, but also ones that cater to adult tastes ("Bad Santa" a little moreso).  So, in the tradition of other great, adult holiday films (my favorite being "The Ref"), "Hebrew Hammer" is quite possibly one of the most offensive... not that there's anything wrong with that.

Mordechai Jefferson Carver (Adam Goldberg) is the Hebrew Hammer, and like Shaft before him, he one's bad mofo.  Except this isn't your average exploitation film.  Instead, this could very well be one of the first films to fall under the genre of "Jew-ploitation" cinema.  He figths crime, rights the wrongs of his fair neighborhood, and puts an end to those awful, mind-warping holiday specials.  Fortunately, things aren't so bad because Santa's an alright guy and last year the Jews, Christians, and Kwanzaa celebrators got together and made a peace pact.  So, everything's going smoothly... that is until Santa is assasinated, and his evil, Hanukkah-hating son, Damien (Andy Dick), takes over.

The Jewish Justice League learns of this, and the Hammer is recruited to fight the new Santa and make the holidays safe again.  He does so with the help of his mother (Nora Dunn), damsel-in-distress Esther Bloom...thal (Judy Greer) and ultra-cool Kwanzaa savior, Mohammad Ali Paula Abdul Rahiem (Mario Van Peebles in top form).  Soon, the battle ensues through the local K-Mart, the North Pole, and (in one of the best scenes) a Nazi pub.

If you cannot tell already, this whole thing is just... whacky.  For example, in case it did not register yet, Andy Dick plays Santa Claus.  I'll state that again:

Andy Dick... plays... Santa Claus.

Luckily, first-time writer/director Jon Kesselman seems to know what he is doing, and keeps the whackiness under control (most of the time).  The cast (especially character actor Sean Whalen as the evil, cockney-accented Tiny Tim) is superb and the the direction is actually quite good (especially for a first timer).  Though, that certainly does not mean this one is flawless.

In the tradition of Mel Brooks, this spoof throws everything at you and sees what sticks.  And, while the majority of the jokes produce at least a chuckle, there are a few that fall horribly flat, while others are just too obvious and un-original to really be funny.  Still, what does work will have you on the floor (that is, if you're not the type to be easily offended).

And, on a final note, if you have only seen the Comedy Central, edited version, this DVD is very worthwhile as the film is much better un-bleeped.

Movie: *** out of ****

DVD Extras: ***1/2 out of ****

It took Comedy Central a year to put this disc together, but it is nice to say that they did do a good job.  The commentary (with actor Golderg, director Kesselman, producer/brother Josh Kesselman, and mother (?) Sandra Kesselman) is lively and the deleted scenes are alright.  There is also some behind-the-scenes footage as well as clips from other Comedy Central shows.  Also, there is the black and white short which directly influenced the feature film.  Finally, there are some great bloopers (watching Andy Dick coach a child actor on how to say "Gentile" is priceless).