The Grand (2007)

"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.

Fmovies: I really love this movie ... some of the set pieces are exquisitely timed and are truly very funny, Woody Harrelson is very good throughout and holds everything together well, Chris Parnell is at times hilarious, Gale Kaplan and Werner Herzog put in two brilliant top drawer comic cameos, and even Phil Gordon manages a good deadpan performance (much, much better than his poker?). There are plenty of other astutely drawn characters like Barry 'Sob Story', the 'Bust You Crew' and, need I say, Fred, Andy, Larry, Lainie and all the main characters are excellent.

What story lines there are may be a bit obvious, but they do effectively drive the comedy right through to the epilogue and outtakes - I mean, who criticises the plot of Airplane? Story is not what The Grand is about, it is about laughing at poker, people and poker people.

If you are a poker fan you should love this movie ... I am, so I can't comment if not ... perhaps you won't find it funny at all.

I'm not much interested in poker. Actually, I even don't play well. So, when I heard about this movie, I didn't pay much attention to it. But one day, I even can't explain why, I had a wish to watch it, maybe because a lot of really great actors play there. The main thing I want to say about it, is that it really made me to change my mind about poker. Now I really want to play this game and to do it well. It was really nice movie, very original, first I even thought that this is documental one, heh. So, it was very entertaining, it includes very good jokes, deep emotions, it shows relationships between each other and their attitude to game. So, this movie isn't only about poker as someone may think, this is big movie which refers to many important thing. So, I advice it to everyone, to those who like poker and to those who don't. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

The Grand fmovies. I don't find a lot of films very funny. The Grand made me laugh from beginning to end. I had no idea what to expect going into the film, but I can tell you that I cannot wait to see it again and have recommended it to everyone I know. The cast is outstanding. Woody Harrelson was completely in his element. From the opening credits I was immersed in this world of high stakes gambling, which really isn't so glamorous when you look at it from this angle. The Grand is going to be a cult classic. Zak Penn has done an exceptional job at taking talented actors, great characters and made a film that doesn't go where you expect it to. Thank you for great film making! The Grand is a breath of fresh air.

So I managed to see The Grand a little while ago at the Puerto Vallarta Film Festival... I had no idea what to expect, as I am admittedly not particularly familiar with the director's other work. I knew some of the actors, but I'm not intimately familiar with their work, either, except for Woody Harrelson. I am a poker fan, though, so I was excited on that front. Well, let me just say that sometimes it's good to go in with no expectations because you can really find yourself getting blown away.

Woody is the biggest name in the movie and one of the funniest. He plays Jack Faro, a down-on-his-luck guy who is trying to save the Rabbit's Foot Casino by winning The Grand poker tournament. David Cross from Arrested Development, Chris Parnell from Saturday Night Live and Cheryl Hines from Curb Your Enthusiasm are also in the movie and are all hilarious. Cross does a fine job letting the air out of those poker players who are so full of themselves.

There are real poker stars in the movie. My favorite, as my friends will attest to, is Phil Gordon, who is funny in the movie along with his announcing partner Mike Werbe. Werbe is like the Ron Popeil of poker. I think I need to learn the Werbe method for my weekly game. (Those of you who have seen the movie will know what I'm talking about.) I could go on, but I don't want to give anything away. From what I've read, the guys in the movie actually played the poker straight and they didn't know who was going to win or lose, so the movie was intriguing for its comedy and its poker. Who wants to watch a fixed hand like in ROunders? This is the real deal. Imagine if the World Series of Poker was a comedy like Spinal Tap or something and you have The Grand.

I definitely will recommend it to my friends when it hits theaters and I'll definitely go see it with them (and I usually won't see a movie in the theater twice.)

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.