DVD Review: ‘The Hammer’ Defies Low Expectations

A few weeks ago, I was asked if I’d like to review a movie I’d never heard of before called The Hammer. The comedy stars none other than Adam Carolla of Loveline and The Man Show fame. After learning who headlines the cast, my instinctive immediate response was, “Sure — right after I pull out all of my teeth using pliers and no anesthesia.”

Fortunately for me, I kept that thought to myself, and I eventually decided to watch the movie, if only to get as many cheap laughs at Carolla’s expense as I could wring out of it. So, nobody was more shocked than I was when The Hammer turned out to be one of the funniest comedy films I’ve seen recently; I laughed all the way through it, when I wasn’t busy being touched by the warmer moments.

The film succeeds largely because of conceiver, co-executive producer, and star Carolla, who has firsthand knowledge of the plot’s main themes due to his early days as a carpenter and boxer. He plays — surprise! — carpenter and former amateur boxer Jerry Ferro who, upon reaching his 40th birthday, is still living a life of willful underachievement, with no steady or lucrative job and an inability to keep a girlfriend.

Jerry does have a loyal friend and co-worker named Oswaldo (Oswaldo Castillo), however, as well as a second job at a California gym training middle-aged white-collar workers in the art of boxing. It’s there that Jerry’s outlook begins to change as he develops a mutual crush on one of his trainees, attractive lawyer Lindsay (producer Heather Juergensen).

He also gets “discovered” one day at the gym by a trainer who notices his killer left hook, a rarity that indicates just how much he squandered his potential as a boxer. Through a timely twist of fate, the second event coaxes Jerry out of his perpetual lethargy and leads him to make an attempt to qualify for the Olympics, producing unpredictable and hilarious results.

After watching The Hammer, I view Carolla in an entirely different light. If he can deliver a few more performances like the one in this downbeat but surprisingly feel-good flick, I’ll have to stop being so derisive towards him and his entertainment career. The movie is that good, which is why I highly recommend it for both comedy and sports lovers, not to mention anybody else who appreciates an unexpectedly well-made film coming out of nowhere and impressing them.

The Hammer Details

• Format: Color, Dolby Digital, Widescreen
• Languages: English
• List Price: $19.98
• Rating: R [Inaccurate — Should be PG-13]
• Release Date: June 24, 2008
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Studio: Weinstein Company
• Subtitles: Yes