The Grand (2007)

I am unsure why all the actual actors said yes to making this movie... I like poker and poker movies but this is without a doubt one of the worst movies I have ever seen.The acting is bad, the poker scenes are bad and a lot of the time not accurate. I get that it is slap-stick but if you are going to make a movie that appeals to poker players, at the very least make it accurate!If one person reads this and decides not to watch the movie, writing this review was a better use of my time then watching this.I wish I could give a worse review but I don't want to have this removed.

Although this movie is no "Rounders" it does give a pretty good view of poker. The characters are interesting and the poker is pretty precise. There might have been some more about poker and less silly jokes. A few scenes could have been cut out of the movie. Really, I found the poker very interesting but didn't find the characters that impressive. Anyway, it's nice to see a movie that one can learn something about poker with. I really don't have too much to say about this movie other than that the poker was pretty good in this movie. The movie is from 2006. A lot has happened since then and it sums up poker until 2006 pretty good. I didn't find it funny or anything and I watched it because of the poker, and it really is worth watching if you want to learn about poker. Pretty good movie actually.

The first three-quarters of Zak Penn's "The Grand" are hilarious, especially for avid fans of No Limit Texas Hold 'Em -- you know, the types of fans who understand whom the characters satirize: Lainie Schwartzman is Annie Duke, Larry Schwartzman is Phil Hellmuth (though the brother/sister storyline mirrors that of Duke and Howard Lederer),and Mike "The Bike" Heslov and his "Crew" represent all of those annoying groups of friends that enter the World Series of Poker as partners, and then root each other on while spewing their own brand of Hold 'Em lingo. In this case, a "BBFC" -- Boom Boom Fold Cock. That's one of the films shortest, and yet most entertaining scenes.David Cross (as Larry Schwartzman), Chris Parnell (as Harold Melvin), and acclaimed director Werner Herzog (as The German) are the stars of this show. All three are funny and memorable for their own reasons, and the casting was spot on for that particular trio of characters. Dennis Farina (Deuce Fairbanks), Richard Kind (Andy Andrews), Ray Romano (Fred Marsh), and Gabe Kaplan (the Schwartzmans' dad) also put in fine work.Woody Harrelson was annoying in the lead as Jack Faro, though he had his moments, especially when discussing his drug and alcohol addictions. Cheryl Hines gives the most uneven and disappointing performance of this mockumentary, finding no consistency and little-to-no laughs.While the first 3/4 of "The Grand" are high in entertainment value and originality, the last quarter falls totally flat. The would-be high tension final table hands are horribly played, and no true fan of Hold 'Em could believe that these players are of the world-class variety. In the real world, they'd all be donkeys.Nonetheless, "The Grand" was a pleasant surprise when I stumbled upon it on one of the Showtime channels. This is on par with Christopher Guest's mockumentaries -- better than some, and worse than others. Ultimately, it's worth seeing for poker fans with a specific sense of humor.

I'd be hard-pressed to even classify this as a 'real' movie...It's more of a display of Penn's attempt at 'riding on the edge' of any conventional-type comedy film, meaning it's an (obviously)'improvisational comedy that centers around a cardgame ('The Grand')...Fairly enough, it's taglined as 'an improvisational comedy...using a handful of actors playing characters competing in an actual poker tournament', which is quite accurate...So, you have been warned...I think the problem here (aside from the old 'ust because someone gives you the money to do soething, doesn't mean you should), no the problem is that it's a little 'too improvisational' and feels like it might 'all-be' an improvisation...LIKE NO SCRIPTED LINES WHATSOEVER...It's like a musical where the orchestra didn't have any sheet usic, but a guy going "like this: dong-cha-dong-chucka-dong-dong-dong"...At least that's the way I felt watching this...In fact, the thought 'kept' coming into my mind...I said "self"..."I don't think they had a written script"... The other problem is that it's really 'not funny'...The characters aren't funny...they are irritating and I get enough irritating people when I go out in public...and they are 'sometime (usually) funnier!...So for my money, it's a comedy..THAT IS NOT FUNNY... It probably pitches like it could be funny (and even successful), but it falls apart as a film, completely...If you understand this, then you also understand it sounds more like an off-Broadway play...As a matter of fact (and the ore I think about it), this 'movie' would probably do very well in a live theatrical format...Heck, it could take on a life of its own and become syndicated, making the US cities tour, complete with building sized promos appearing in each city months before it premiers to build the anticipation...I'm certain performing arts centers all over the country will sell out all the shows quickly as anticipation grows and of course the wealthy season ticket holders would let everyone know they'll be busy on Friday evening, because they will be at the 'premier' of that play...'The Grand'...As a matter of fact, the more 'I' think about it, given the opportunity; 'I'd' pitch it! (as a play), because it 'would' be successful (as a play)... The problem (again) is that we aren't talking about 'The Grand-the play'...we're talking about 'The Grand--the movie'...which sadly, doesn't work...The other alternative for this material would be a SNL skit...or maybe the Comedy Channel coud've made it an hour and a half long TV comedy-movie, but even then there would need to be some casting revisions and a lot of editing... The way it is just doesn't work and shouldn't have been financed or released onto an unsuspecting public...I'll take a second look at anything Woody Harrelson is in from now on and won't spend my oney on anything Penn's in charge of...How does Jr. say it???...Trick me once shame on Penn...trick the public twice...and I get two terms to rape the country...(that's not an exact quote, but that's probably a bit more accurate!)...