7/10
Hammer, Please
27 December 2012
An orthodox Jewish blaxploitation hero (Adam Goldberg) saves Hanukkah from the clutches of Santa Claus's evil son (Andy Dick).

My biggest complaint with this film is the sex jokes. I thought they carried themselves well with the racial and ethnic humor, and made a mockery of racism and stereotypes. Throwing is sexual material just seemed to cheaper it, and for that I had to dock them a star.

What I found interesting was having Peter Coyote as the head of the Jewish Justice League. With a name like Coyote, I did not think he was Jewish. Turns out I was very, very wrong. His father was a Jewish investment banker and his maternal grandfather was a rabbi. He certainly knows about the stereotypical Jewish, New York City life.

I also found my appreciation of the film changed between my first and second viewings. The first time I loved it for the racial humor. The second time, there was still that, but I had since seen "Superfly" and a few other films and better appreciated the homages that were thrown in, particularly the use of the Curtis Mayfield.

The MC Hammer and Mike Hammer jokes were good, and hopefully not over anyone's head (by 2003, did people still know who MC Hammer was?).
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed