Movies that sound Jewish, but aren't

Movies that sound Jewish, but aren't photo2
Promised Land

Here are some movies that you'd think would be Jewish in theme or content based on their titles but are far from it. (* means it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger.)

Tora! Tora! Tora!

What it should be about: The Torah (three times?)
What it is about: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (The title is a Japanese code word)

The 6th Day*

What it should be about: The creation of humans
What it is about:
The creation of clones

All About Eve

What it should be about: The first mother
What it is about:
Backstage backstabbing

Cain and Abel

What it should be about: The original sibling rivalry
What it is about: Undercover cops in Hollywood

Book of Ruth

What it should be about: The convert, Ruth, and her loyalty to her mother-in-law
What it is about:
A Mexican immigrant on a quest for love

Mortdecai

What it should be about: The Book of Esther
What it is about:
An art dealer trying to recover a stolen painting that has a clue to lost gold

Proverbs

What it should be about: The collected, pithy wisdom of King Solomon
What it is about:
The Zoloft Defense ("My meds made me do it")

Song of Songs

What it should be about: The collected, NFSW love poetry of King Solomon
What it is about:
A woman falling for a sculptor who can't commit

Jonah Hex

What it should be about: The bad luck that the Prophet Jonah brings on himself
What it is about:
A wanted outlaw recruited to stop a supernatural threat

Judgement Day

What it should be about: Accounting for one's sins
What it is about:
The only man who can stop an asteroid from hitting Earth

Day of Atonement

What it should be about: Yom Kippur
What it is about:
The Feds trying to stop a mob war (part 2)

The Book of Life

What it should be about: Rosh Hashanah
What it is about:
A troubadour who goes through hell, literally, for love (it's a kiddie movie)

Tabernacle 101

What it should be about: A beginner's guide to Sukkot
What it is about:
People who try to disprove the existence of evil spirits, only to tick them off

Festival of Lights

What it should be about: Chanukah
What it is about:
A woman's quest to find her long-lost father in Guyana

Sabbath

What it should be about: Shabbat
What it is about:
…it's a really gross-looking, very poorly rated horror movie. Don't ask.

Holy Land

What it should be about: Israel
What it is about:
A 20-something who is a musician but wants to write a novel

Promised Land

What it should be about: Israel
What it is about:
A natural-gas company employee who questions his firm's ethics

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

What it should be about: A … Roman … lawyer … in Judea …?
What it is about:
An idealistic attorney confronted with the 21st century justice system

Kingdom Come

What it should be about: The afterlife (in Hebrew: "Olam Ha'ba")
What it is about:
A family trying, and failing, to be sad when a despised family member dies

End of Days*

What it should be about: The Messianic era
What it is about:
A cop trying to stop The Devil from taking a human bride

Also, there are some TV shows that sound Jewish but are not:

Nu3bers

What it should be about: The fourth book of the Torah, or at least its first chapter
What it is about:
A family of math geniuses solving crimes with math

Crossing Jordan

What it should be about: Joshua entering Israel following the death of Moses
What it is about:
A crusading coroner solving crimes with science

Jericho

What it should be about: Joshua conquering Jericho after crossing the Jordan River
What it is about:
Life in Colorado after Denver is nuked in World War III

What else is named for something Jewish, but isn't? GenesisExodusOld Deuteronomy

Let me know in the comments!


Paul Wieder photo 375
Imagine a man with the charisma of Cary Grant, the audacity of Marlon Brando, and the brilliance of Laurence Olivier. That's George Clooney. I'm more… Jason Alexander. I was born in Cleveland in 1970, but entered Northwestern in 1988, moving to Chicago permane... Read More



AdvertisementSpertus Institute MA in Jewish Professional Studies
AdvertisementJCYS Register