The Grand

I have to say I really enjoyed this film. I saw it at Tribeca last month and to be honest I didn't have high expectations. I personally don't like most of the movies the writer/director (Zak Penn) has written of late (mostly big action comic book movies), but this is not that kind of film.

What honestly attracted me to this film was that it's an improv style film starring one of my favorite SNL people ever, Chris Parnell. He doesn't disappoint. He plays a lonely poker player who has some kind of mental problem where he's brutally honest and very, very skilled in math (which makes him a great player). Chris steals every scene he's in, which aren't enough if you ask me, but I'm biased so take that with a grain of salt.

The other actors hold their own in their respective roles all working to try and win a big tournament for 10 million dollars. I don't know enough about poker to know if it's at all accurate, but the good thing is the film doesn't really focus on actual poker all that often.

If you like the films of Christopher Guest (which I do), then I think you'll like this film as well.

It's hard to be a poker fan in the world of movies. Let's face it, how many great poker movies can you think of? "Rounders" perhaps. Despite "Texas Hold'Em" growing extraordinarily popular over the last few years, Hollywood has really failed to capitalize on the trend. I'm happy to report that the wait is over. "The Grand" not only emerges as a wonderful poker film, but also one of the best comedies I've seen in ages. While it doesn't seem to be well known now, I predict it will find a massive audience on DVD and Cable, ala "Office Space".

"The Grand" is a mocumentary (in the tradition of Christopher Guest), following six players as they compete in huge Texas Hold'em tournament in Nevada. Along the way we meet many other supporting characters, including family and friends of the main six, as well as other participants in the tournament. The initial six are…

Woody Harrelson as "One Eyed" Jack Faro. He is a lifetime drug abuser who has inherited the "Rabbit's Foot Casino" from his grandfather. A large debt has forced him to enter into the tournament his Casino is hosting.

Cheryl Hines as Lainie Schwartzman. She is a mother of five who supports her family (which includes a deadbeat husband) as a professional poker player. She is also the sister of…

David Cross as Larry Schwartzman. He is also a professional poker player, known around the circuit for his obnoxious behavior. The fact that his father puts his support behind his sister Lainie only motivates him more to win the tournament.

Chris Parnell as Harold Melvin. A statistics expert who uses his knowledge of numbers to his advantage as a poker pro. He is also ludicrously Anti-Social, and lives still lives with his elderly mother.

Dennis Farina as Deuce Fairbanks. The old timer who's been on the scene for years, and has nothing but contempt for what's become of the game over the past few years.

Richard Kind as Andy Andrews. A novice player who won an online poker tournament by chance to win his seat at "The Grand", despite knowing absolutely nothing about the game of poker.

Some supporting performers include Judy Greer, Michael McKean, Ray Romano, Jason Alexander, Hank Azaria, and Shannon Elizabeth. Real life Pro players Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, and Phil Laak also make appearances, as well as filmmakers Brett Ratner and Werner Herzog.

As you can see, this is a huge ensemble, and director Zak Penn handles it impeccably. Every performance shines, and the pace is fast and fun. I think I laughed three times as much in this film than in any feature all year. The humor is always there, be it in the witty dialogue, the great ensemble, or the various clever scenarios.

As stated before, the film is structured similarly to a Chris Guest mocumentary, alternating between testimonials of the characters, and following the players around as they play in the tournament. The tournament itself is presented similarity to a telecast of "The World Series of Poker", complete with mismatched commentators.

I'm not the biggest fan of Penn's superhero stuff, but I thought he did something clever with his Herzog Loch Ness project. Here, he hits a real sweet spot, creating a real love letter to fans of poker and smart comedy alike.

Being a regular poker player myself, i was probably more interested in watching this, than a non poker player, but you do not have to be an avid poker fan to enjoy this movie, though it would be slightly more interesting if you was.

Although the main basis of the film is about 6 people who have made the final table of a £10m poker tournament, it goes into more detail at the start of the film, of each particular person and their background etc, so by the end of the movie when the final is being played, you will probably have a favourite as to who you want to win.

But although the movie was watchable, it wasn't that good that you would want to watch it again and halfway through the film you've a pretty good idea how its going to end.

If you are into poker, look out for cameo appearances of Doyle Brunson and Phil Helmuth.

Verdict: Watchable but don't expect too much out of it.

A 'mockumentary' about a ten million dollar poker tournament, this is chock full of familiar faces. The best poker players are invited to the Rabbit's Foot Casino in Vegas, an aging hold-out amidst the shiny high rise establishments.

The introductions, via 'interviews', to the off-beat characters is the most interesting part of the film, starting with the casino owner, Woody Harrelson. Harrelson is a stoner (and yes, he always nails that character), married 74 times (and 'loved them all') who inherited the casino from his grandfather (Barry Corbin, in flashback scenes). After a long stint in rehab, he is playing in the tournament at his casino (is this allowed?) to save the place from developer Michael McKean. McKean is a rather vacuous self absorbed rich guy who likes to put up shiny buildings and he wants to use the land for a huge hotel that is actually just one room - the rate is a million dollars a night.

Supposedly, there was no script for the poker game segments -it was ad-libbed. If this is true, Parnell proves to be the one adept at improv who can carry the scenes, and he really is quite good. This, however, is the problem with the film, unlike the wonderful mockumentary films of Christopher Guest, there wasn't enough of a script written by those who know comedy, or a cast that can pull off so much improvisation. There are some funny moments in the film, and these are talented actors..but they seem to be left to their own devices too often with little direction on what to do with their wacky characters.

"The Grand" is funny in parts, but overall there are three unfunny minutes for every funny minute. The movie starts fairly strong, and I was honestly hoping that it would keep up the humor, but it did not. Which is a shame.

Interestingly, what does not work in this film is the poker. At a Q&A after the movie (at the Tribeca Film Festival), the director made a point of immediately stating that the poker was real. They dealt the cards and the actors played in character and the results were up to fate. Very interesting idea. Unfortunately, that did not carry to the movie. There was almost no excitement or tension to the poker tournament, perhaps because it is impossible to build tension in the results of a game when that game is severely edited. I hate to say it, but this film is less exciting and less entertaining than an episode Bravo's "Celebrity Poker." Even though the poker tournament itself is boring, this movie still could have been laugh out loud funny. Unfortunately, it isn't. I hold no grudge against the filmmaker for taking a direct copy of the Christopher Guest play book and running with it. I only wish he'd been more successful so that I could have laughed more than infrequently.

Hopefully this movie's failure will not discourage others from using this formula. I would love to have more comedies in this style. It is not like Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy are the only two people alive who can come up with a concept for a mockumentary. Actually, it's my opinion that "The Grand" has a better premise than several Guest/Levy creations. It should be very funny and entertaining. Unfortunately, it is not.