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Just in time for Hanukkah, we have this unusual film from writer and director Jonathan Kesselman, who is making his feature film debut in both roles. An impressive list of people has been signed up for roles in this movie, including Adam Goldberg, Andy Dick, Mario Van Peebles, Peter Coyote, and Saturday Night Live current cast member Rachel Dratch and alum Nora Dunn.

Adam Goldberg stars as Mordecai Jefferson Carver a.k.a. The Hebrew Hammer, a Jewish “super-detective”. He is recruited by the Jewish Justice League to help save Hanukkah from being wiped from the calendar. Apparently, Santa’s son, Damien (Andy Dick), has killed the jolly old elf so he has no opposition to his plan to eliminate Hanukkah. If he gets this done, Christmas will have no competition and his plan will be complete. Mordecai is also aided in his orders by an African-American detective named Mohammed (Mario Van Peebles), who is worried that if Hanukkah is gone, Kwanzaa will be next. As you can tell from this synopsis, this is definitely a spoof-type movie and doesn’t take itself seriously at all.

The release for this film is also quite unique. The movie had its world premiere at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. It will be shown in early December on cable’s Comedy Central and then have a limited theatrical release. However, I could see this film easily expanding to a larger audience after its exposure on cable TV. (Marty Doskins/BOP)

Vital statistics for The Hebrew Hammer Main Cast Adam Goldberg, Andy Dick, Mario Van Peebles, Judy Greer Supporting Cast Peter Coyote, Rachel Dratch, Nora Dunn Director Jonathan Kesselman (feature film debut) Screenwriter Jonathan Kesselman (feature film debut) Distributor Strand Releasing Official Site http://www.thehebrewhammer.com Rating Unrated Running Time 85 minutes Screen Count 8 Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

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