.gif)
The Hammer (film)
Encyclopedia
The Hammer is a 2007 comedy film starring Adam Carolla
and Heather Juergensen
. It was directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld.
Jerry Ferro is pushing 40 years old and is not what you would call a success. He works part-time in construction as a carpenter and part-time as a boxing
instructor at a fitness center near Los Angeles. He drives a broken-down pickup truck and the woman in his life has just left him.
An amateur Golden Gloves boxer long ago, Jerry is asked one day if he would be willing to spar with an up-and-coming fighter named Malice Blake. He takes a beating, but surprisingly lands a one-punch knockout.
He is noticed by Eddie Bell, a coach who will train boxers trying to qualify for the next Olympic Games
. Bell invites him to come to the Olympic tryouts. Jerry is clearly too old and out-of-shape, so he isn't interested. But his friend and co-worker Oswaldo Sanchez gives him encouragement, as does Lindsay Pratt, an attractive lawyer who works out at the gym and has caught Jerry's eye.
Jerry comes to the tryouts. He is mocked by Bell's top light-heavyweight contender, Robert Brown, which motivates Jerry to get into shape. He goes into serious training, loses weight and needles Brown, telling him there's "a new sheriff" in town in the light-heavyweight division.
What he doesn't know is that Coach Bell privately sees Jerry as no more than a sparring partner and motivator for Brown, who is a legitimate Olympic candidate. Jerry drives team members to the first stage of the Olympic qualifying eliminations in Phoenix
, where because of his age and lowly status he is immediately paired against the No. 1 contender.
Coach Bell has gotten all he wanted out of Jerry and is so apathetic about the outcome that he deserts Jerry's corner in the middle of the bout. Motivated by the memory that he has never finished anything he ever started, Jerry scores a shocking knockout.
He and Brown both advance to the next round of the competition, to be held in Pasadena
. Because of the way Coach Bell has handled things, Brown begins to sympathize with Jerry and to bond with him as unlikely friends. Unfortunately, they will need to fight each other soon, with only one able to qualify for the Olympics.
On top of that, Lindsay has a job offer that would require her to move out of state. Jerry knows he has little future in boxing, no matter what happens next, so he needs to get his priorities straight as he and Brown head toward a showdown in the ring.
In the final round of the competition, Jerry and Brown go up against each other. Lindsay decides to stay in California. At the fight, right as Jerry is about to win and KO Brown, Jerry instead hugs him and lets Brown win. The film ends with all three at a party at their house and Jerry becoming Brown's trainer.
. Filming was completed in late July 2006.
Jane Lynch
has an uncredited cameo as a shopper in a home-improvement store.
in February 2008 and received the Audience Favourite Award. The film also played at the Tribeca Film Festival
in April 2007, and received a positive review in Variety
. The film opened nationwide in the United States on March 21, 2008.
The Hammer was released on DVD June 26, 2008.
reported that 70% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 33 reviews. Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 12 reviews. Jesse Thorn
of the public radio show The Sound of Young America
called The Hammer the best sports comedy of 2008.
Adam Carolla
Adam Carolla is an American radio personality, television host, comedian, and actor. He currently hosts The Adam Carolla Show, a talk show distributed as a podcast on the ACE Broadcasting Network...
and Heather Juergensen
Heather Juergensen
Heather Julia Juergensen is an American actress and writer.-Life and career:Juergensen was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1987. Soon after, she began writing and performing for the stage in both New York and Los Angeles...
. It was directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld.
Plot
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
instructor at a fitness center near Los Angeles. He drives a broken-down pickup truck and the woman in his life has just left him.
An amateur Golden Gloves boxer long ago, Jerry is asked one day if he would be willing to spar with an up-and-coming fighter named Malice Blake. He takes a beating, but surprisingly lands a one-punch knockout.
He is noticed by Eddie Bell, a coach who will train boxers trying to qualify for the next Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. Bell invites him to come to the Olympic tryouts. Jerry is clearly too old and out-of-shape, so he isn't interested. But his friend and co-worker Oswaldo Sanchez gives him encouragement, as does Lindsay Pratt, an attractive lawyer who works out at the gym and has caught Jerry's eye.
Jerry comes to the tryouts. He is mocked by Bell's top light-heavyweight contender, Robert Brown, which motivates Jerry to get into shape. He goes into serious training, loses weight and needles Brown, telling him there's "a new sheriff" in town in the light-heavyweight division.
What he doesn't know is that Coach Bell privately sees Jerry as no more than a sparring partner and motivator for Brown, who is a legitimate Olympic candidate. Jerry drives team members to the first stage of the Olympic qualifying eliminations in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, where because of his age and lowly status he is immediately paired against the No. 1 contender.
Coach Bell has gotten all he wanted out of Jerry and is so apathetic about the outcome that he deserts Jerry's corner in the middle of the bout. Motivated by the memory that he has never finished anything he ever started, Jerry scores a shocking knockout.
He and Brown both advance to the next round of the competition, to be held in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. Because of the way Coach Bell has handled things, Brown begins to sympathize with Jerry and to bond with him as unlikely friends. Unfortunately, they will need to fight each other soon, with only one able to qualify for the Olympics.
On top of that, Lindsay has a job offer that would require her to move out of state. Jerry knows he has little future in boxing, no matter what happens next, so he needs to get his priorities straight as he and Brown head toward a showdown in the ring.
In the final round of the competition, Jerry and Brown go up against each other. Lindsay decides to stay in California. At the fight, right as Jerry is about to win and KO Brown, Jerry instead hugs him and lets Brown win. The film ends with all three at a party at their house and Jerry becoming Brown's trainer.
Cast
- Adam CarollaAdam CarollaAdam Carolla is an American radio personality, television host, comedian, and actor. He currently hosts The Adam Carolla Show, a talk show distributed as a podcast on the ACE Broadcasting Network...
as Jerry Ferro - Heather JuergensenHeather JuergensenHeather Julia Juergensen is an American actress and writer.-Life and career:Juergensen was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1987. Soon after, she began writing and performing for the stage in both New York and Los Angeles...
as Lindsay Pratt - Constance ZimmerConstance ZimmerConstance Zimmer is an American actress perhaps best known for her role as Dana Gordon in HBO's Entourage and as Claire Simms on the critically acclaimed ABC legal comedy-drama Boston Legal...
as Jerrys Girlfriend - Harold House Moore as Robert Brown
- Oswaldo CastilloOswaldo CastilloOswaldo Castillo is a Nicaraguan American gardener/construction worker-turned-actor.Castillo was born in Nicaragua and, in 1986, fled to the United States after being tortured by Somoza militants for suspected opposition activities. He settled in Los Angeles, California and worked in construction,...
as Oswaldo Sanchez - Tom QuinnTom Quinn (actor)Tom Quinn is an American actor who has appeared in numerous small roles on television and in various films, including a stint as Detective Patrick Mahon on HBO's The Wire.-External links:...
as Eddie Bell
Production
Ferro’s life is based on Adam Carolla’s real experiences as a construction worker in L.A. The Hammer was conceived by Carolla and writer Kevin Hench. It was directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld and independently produced by Eden Wurmfeld, reuniting the team that created the 2001 independent hit, Kissing Jessica SteinKissing Jessica Stein
Kissing Jessica Stein is a 2001 independent romantic comedy film, written and co-produced by the film's stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. The film also stars Tovah Feldshuh and is directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld...
. Filming was completed in late July 2006.
Jane Lynch
Jane Lynch
Jane Marie Lynch is an American comedian, actress and singer. She gained fame in Christopher Guest's improv mockumentary pictures such as Best in Show and is currently best known for playing the role of Sue Sylvester in the television series Glee...
has an uncredited cameo as a shopper in a home-improvement store.
Release
The Hammer opened on 20 screens on March 21, 2008, and grossed $97,137 during its first weekend. The following week, the film expanded to 34 theaters and had box office totals of $104,803. It was presented at the Victoria Film FestivalVictoria Film Festival
The Victoria Film Festival is a publicly attended film festival in Victoria, British Columbia running for ten days in February. The festival shows both Canadian and international films and unreels 150 films with 55 Features on 6 screens around Victoria. It attracts a continually growing audience,...
in February 2008 and received the Audience Favourite Award. The film also played at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
in April 2007, and received a positive review in Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
. The film opened nationwide in the United States on March 21, 2008.
The Hammer was released on DVD June 26, 2008.
Critical reception
The Hammer received mostly positive reviews from critics. As of March 21, 2008, Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 70% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 33 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 12 reviews. Jesse Thorn
Jesse Thorn
Jesse Thorn is an American public radio show host/creator. He is the host and producer of the radio show and podcast The Sound of Young America, which is distributed by Public Radio International to 25 public terrestrial radio stations in 13 states and is also broadcast weekly on XM Radio's "XM...
of the public radio show The Sound of Young America
The Sound of Young America
The Sound of Young America is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed by Public Radio International...
called The Hammer the best sports comedy of 2008.
Music
- Bad ReligionBad ReligionBad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
– Infected - Homer Greencastle – You're the Next Customer
- Ira Ingber – Hot Tamales
- James Kalamasz and Danny Kirsic – Secrets of Good Loving
- The Jayhawks – Blue
- The Mighty Mighty BosstonesThe Mighty Mighty BosstonesThe Mighty Mighty Bosstones are an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. Since the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, tenor saxophonist Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton and dancer Ben Carr have remained constant members...
– The Rascal King - The Mooney SuzukiThe Mooney SuzukiThe Mooney Suzuki is an American garage rock band that formed in New York City in 1996. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Sammy James, Jr., guitarist Graham Tyler, bassist John Paul Ribas and drummer Will Rockwell-Scott, the band has released four studio albums – People Get Ready ,...
– Alive & Amplified - The OffspringThe OffspringThe Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
– Gotta Get Away - John OszajcaJohn OszajcaJohn Oszajca is an America singer-songwriter who was born and raised in Waimanalo, Hawaii. After relocating to Los Angeles, Oszajca became a part of the Los Angeles music scene and he was signed to Interscope Records for whom he released his debut album, From There to Here, and later to Warner...
– Ring of Fire - Social DistortionSocial DistortionSocial Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and David Hidalgo, Jr...
– Story of My Life - Andy StochanskyAndy StochanskyAndy Stochansky is a songwriter living in Los Angeles who was once signed to RCA U.S. He first started out as one the most wanted drummers in the Canadian music scene. His popularity caught the attention of songstress Ani DiFranco. Living just south of the border in Buffalo, New York, she asked him...
and Matthew GerrardMatthew GerrardMatthew Gerrard is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. He has written hit singles by artists such as Nick Carter , Kelly Clarkson , Hilary Duff , Eden's Crush and Jesse McCartney...
– Stay - SurvivorSurvivor (band)Survivor is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1978. The band achieved its greatest success in the 1980s with its AOR sound, which garnered many charting singles, especially in the United States. The band is best known for its double platinum-certified 1982 hit "Eye of the Tiger", the theme...
– Eye of the Tiger - Alan Windus – Napolitana
External links
- The Hammer Review in Variety