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The Hammer (Genius Products, $15.99) - Radio talk-show host Adam Carolla understands if some people forever associate him with “The Man Show,” the Comedy Central series that delighted in the finer points of being male - like watching girls jump on trampolines.

Still, he hopes people - especially film critics - will watch his new-to-DVD film “The Hammer” without considering his comedic baggage.

“Remove my criminal past from your records and just do it based on the evidence in front of you,” Mr. Carolla says. “When I’m reading a review that says, ‘Carolla’s racist, misogynistic comedy hits below the belt,’ are you reviewing the movie or my past?”

“The Hammer,” which Mr. Carolla co-wrote and co-produced and in which he stars, is neither racist nor misogynistic. In fact, it’s the sort of warm, sweet comedy most mainstream rom-coms try but too often fail to emulate.

Mr. Carolla stars as Jerry “the Hammer” Ferro, a 40-year-old construction worker who gets one last chance to compete in the Olympic boxing trials. He may be out of shape - and out of work - but he has a killer left hook that gives him a puncher’s chance. Yet it’s his flirtation with a socially conscious lawyer (Heather Juergensen) that could send him to the canvas.

Set for a Tuesday DVD release, the movie didn’t hit many theaters nationwide when it opened earlier this year. It’s a frustrating lesson that still stings Mr. Carolla, a former boxer.

“I was naive enough to think it was going to be purely merit-based,” he says. When “The Hammer” got rejected by the Sundance Film Festival, it served as a rude awakening.

Turns out a Sundance judge wasn’t a big “Man Show” fan and voted against the film, Mr. Carolla says.

“Then, when we started showing it to potential buyers, they said, ‘Awesome movie, but what do you want us to do with it?’” he recalls. Without a big name like Adam Sandler or Mike Myers attached, simply finding a buyer was a nightmare.

“If the movie happens to be good it doesn’t mean anything to them,” he says. “It’s all about who’s attached to it. I don’t have any credentials in the movie-making department.”

Now he’s looking forward to the film’s DVD release as a way to prove his faith in the finished product. Even if rental sales are sluggish, he has done what he set out to do.

“I made this movie so I could make the next movie,” he says.

Christian Toto

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