5stars
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Good value75% agree
Entertaining100% agree
Engaging characters100% agree
13 Reviews
Poker Anyone...............
Though not bad it had room for improvement but what makes "The Grand" successful in its on right is that it really does come across as a documentary. While it focuses a great deal on the wacky players, it also spends a great deal of time on the game itself. Penn is said to have given each actor some guidelines, letting them improvise the characters and to make things a tad more realistic, the final game was completely unscripted and played out exactly as the cards fell and though I never conceived that this had been the case (one would assume that the all important final showdown would be scripted), the final few hands certainly felt authentic. Not only was the interaction and game itself interesting but Penn and the actors involved managed to create characters that one cares for and regardless of who won, someone deserving was going home empty handed.
Each character is brought to life by a talented cast including Woody Harrelson as Faro, the out of luck, drugged up casino owner trying to win the big jackpot in order to save his own casino, David Cross and Cheryl Hines as Larry and Laine, siblings working through sibling rivalry and family issues, Dennis Farina as Deuce, the old timer who's been gambling since the beginning of time and reminisces about the old Vegas, Chris Parnell as the "Dune" obsessed socially awkward math wiz who still lives with his mom, Richard Kind as the new comer who apparently doesn't know what he's doing and Werner Herzog as the violent The German who believes "coffee is for pussies" and prefers to get his frustration out by killing animals. Though these are the main players, the cast of this film is a who's who of Hollywood and the gambling world with appearances from Hank Azaria, Brett Ratner, Jason Alexander and recognizable real-life poker stars Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth Jr. and Doyle Brunson (though I'm sure there are a number of others I don't recognize).
"The Grand" is humorous not always laugh out loud but funny. The comedy is in the characters along with their actions. Penn succeeds at something else as well: allowing the actors to create personas that one can't help but feel attached to and then bringing it all together into a film that feels truly authentic in an off the wall sort of way. Aside from that, it's about poker so if you don't like the game, you may want to avoid this but if you can follow a poker game with some entertainment you might come out with a winning hand.Read full review...
Good idea - Bad Execution
Poker players have been waiting a long time for a good poker movie to follow up to Rounders. The Grand seemed to have the best promise by taking a mocumentary approach to poker. Couple that with a great cast of actors and cameo appearances from pros Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmeuth, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Gordon , Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari I had high hopes for this film. This movie was like having a up and down nut straight flush draw on the flop only to brick off on the turn and river against a middle pair.
The Grand is about 6 players and the roads they took to them into the the grand championship of poker. The writers definitely took examples from real life poker; a health food obsessed player who's mother prepares his lunches (Negreanu); The Old Timer who gets around on a scooter (Brunson); Brother/sister players who grew up in a compettive childhood environment (Howard Lederer / Annie Duke); and then wrote over the top characters for the script.
None of it worked because the character development time was limited. Not only that, it was hard to get vested into characters because I've seen the real pros on TV in the past. I believe this movie would have been much better with wholly developed characters put into poker situations.
Additionally, it is very easy to tell that the writers had very little experience in poker or did not consult with real players since certain situations would rarely occur in poker. It would have been better if the writers took real life situations in poker that players could relate to and write over those over the top. For example the couuld write about; the player who repeatedly insists on a new set up or requests a wash and continues to get cold decked; Players who wear noise cancelling head phones and can't hear a raise from the other end of the table; or some over zealous chip stackers.
The best performance was by Phil Gordon who, not surpisingly, took on the role as TV announcer for the tournament. He nailed the part easily but his interactions with his color commentary partner were by far the funniest in the film.
The entire tournament was scripted up until the final table where the 6 main characters face off. At this point the writers had the actors play the final table (in character) as a real tournament and whoever won would be the winner in the film. This is where the actor's inexperience with poker became glaringly transparent. Up until the final table, the scripted hands had been passable , but at the point where the reigns were passed to the actors, the play fell off the charts. The bustout hands were terrible and the final hand was even worse.
No experienced players would ever make those plays. I know this is a mocumentary but this production decision wiped out the little chracter development that had been established and made it plain as day that these were actors acting like poker players. As a result of the actors trying to play a live tournament rather than reading from a script, the last half hour of the movie was void of much humor. In fact most of the improv lines used at the final table had been used earlier in the script as the actors tried to draw upon their knowledge of their characters and play cards at the same time. Not an easy thig to do considering poker alone requires a high level of concentration.
If you are a poker player looking for humor about the game we love, I guarantee you, you'll get find more humor in 2 hours at a real poker table.Read full review...
It is OK..but not great
This is an average movie. Not a lot to write about. The plot is kind of simple and predictable. The acting was mediocre.
Pretty funny
Great mock-umentary of the poker broadcasts you see on ESPN all the time. All-star cast with great comedic talent. Entertaining and hilarious. I bought two copies, one for myself and one for a guy I know who quit his job recently and now plays live poker at a casino in Reno for a living. I'm still waiting to see what he thinks of the movie.Read full review...
great movie funny
seen it in HBO and loved it it is a cheesy funny movie great entertainment value It is set in egas and is aout Woody H trying to win his own pocker tournament to save hishosing casino funny and the casino name is
The rabits foot hee heeRead full review...
Very Funny
I thought this movie was absolutely halarious. I guess it just depends on the type of humor you like. My only complaint is I wish there was more poker playing at the end. I like watching poker, but I suppose it might bore others. All in all this movie will keep you laughing. P.S. It's even funnier the second time you watch it!!Read full review...
The Grand...looked like it might be good...
Not much other than a few laughs here and there to look forward to in this flick. Overall just a weak movie, but I will say it was worth it to watch it once, lol...gbpacker420
The Grand
This movie in my opinion is pretty good, i like how the characters in the movies aren't perfect plus its nice to see woody harrelson in a movie, it isn't a gut buster but i still like it, good movie
WASTE OF MATERIALS
THIS REVIEW IS SIMPLE DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. I WOULD SAY THAT EVERY ACTOR IN THIS MOVIE WILL TRY HARD TO FORGET IT. I FIND THAT IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO EVEN GIVE AWAY, SO IN THE TRASH IT WILL GO.
The Grand
This was a hilarious movie! If you are a poker fan I highly recommend this movie! I would considered it stupid funny though!