DVD Review: The Hammer - Page 2

Carolla offers his trademark unique observations on society - not only to his pal Ozzie, but also to a young boxer (Harold House Moore) he takes under his wing. Adding a romantic dimension to the movie, Jerry begins dating one of his female boxing students, Lindsay (Heather Juergensen - also one of the film's producers). While the romance may be a fairly predictable element of the movie, it's really not a weakness. Whether Jerry is speculating about how cheap the Dutch must be to earn the "let's go Dutch" term or pontificating on the attraction of the La Brea tar pits, we are - along with Lindsay - won over by his charm.

While The Hammer may not be the most original or ambitious movie ever, it is certainly a worthwhile effort. Carolla made the movie independently and even ponied up some of his own dough to get prints made for a limited theatrical release. However, the movie looks as professional as any similar movie that comes out of a Hollywood studio. The acting is strong for the most part (Juergensen, though servicable, has her share of dull line readings). Oswaldo Castillo, who is a long time friend of Carolla's rather than a professional actor, turns in a particularly natural and funny performance as Jerry's friend Ozzie.

The DVD of The Hammer boasts a nice quantity of special features. The deleted scenes are nice to see, but it is no mystery why they didn't make the cut. The brief outtake reel is a waste of time - I mean, are these really the funniest mistakes that occurred during production? Somehow, with a master improviser like Adam Carolla, I doubt it. There are a number of other bells and whistles that are likely to be watched and never returned to again, including a series of behind-the-scenes promotional segments. The real highlight of the features is an informative (and hilarious) commentary track from Carolla and screenwriter Kevin Hench. Carolla talks for a living (on his nationally syndicated radio show) so it makes sense that he's in his element doing a DVD commentary. He offers a lot of interesting anecdotes about the production - all laced with humor.

Article Author: Sherry Lipp

Sherry writes mostly music and dvd reviews and on occasion she gets to do an interview. She plays the guitar, enjoys playing with her dog Pepsi and she and her husband are currently in the process of internationally adopting from Poland.

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