The festival run for Jonathan Kesselman's "The Hebrew Hammer" has featured all of the usual stops: Cannes, Sundance and the Toronto Jewish Film Festival. It's not entirely surprising, then, that this twisted Hanukkah-themed comedy will take an equally circuitous route to its 2003 Holiday Season release. "Hammer," which stars Adam Goldberg ("Friends," "Saving Private Ryan") will premiere on Comedy Central weeks before its limited theatrical run.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, "The Hebrew Hammer" will get a two-week window on the cable network starting on Dec. 8. The film will then be pulled from Comedy Central and will get a multi-city release (courtesy of Cowboy Pictures), timed to coincide with Hanukkah.

The flick stars Goldberg as Mordechai Jefferson Carver, also known as The Hebrew Hammer, an Orthodox Jewish superhero. He has to work with the forces of the J.J.L. (Jewish Justice League) to prevent Santa's evil son, Damien Claus (Andy Dick) from destroying Hanukkah. Nora Dunn, Peter Coyote, Judy Greer and Melvin Van Peebles co-star in a film compared by its director to "Shaft."

This marks the second year in a row to feature a major release aimed at those who celebrate the Festival of Lights. Last winter, Adam Sander dropped the animated musical "Eight Crazy Nights." While that uninspired effort did better than landing a shin on your dreidel, the producers of "The Hebrew Hammer" hope that this time, everything will be coming up gimel and that there will be lots of gelt to go around. While people may only expect the film to screen for one night, it may miraculously last for eight. Instead of popcorn, people will bring latkes.

After its inevitably successful big screen run, "Hebrew Hammer" will return to Comedy Central for a four-year run, starting in December of 2004.