If you watch one Hanukah film this festive season may I suggest you watch the 2003 film, The Hebrew Hammer. I am particularly partial to this film, it featured heavily in my book, The New Jew in Film, for its self-conscious reversal of cinematic stereotypes of Jews.
Starring Adam Goldberg (fresh from Saving Private Ryan), Andy Dick and Judy Greer, The Hebrew Hammer features an orthodox crime-fighting Jewish hero, Mordechai Jefferson Carver, who saves Hanukah from the clutches of Santa Claus’s evil son, who wants to make everyone celebrate Christmas.
The Hebrew Hammer has been voted among the top holiday movies by the New York Times and Vanity Fair. Moment Magazine listed it among its “Top 100 Most Influential Films in the History of Jewish Cinema” alongside such great films as The Graduate, Schindler’s List and Annie Hall.
