The Grand (2007)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Zak Penn

Writers (WGA):

Zak Penn (written by) &
Matt Bierman (written by)

Release Date:

4 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A comedy about the fine art of losing

Plot:

An improvisational comedy using a handful of actors playing characters competing in an actual poker tournament. |

Plot Keywords:

Poker

Cast

Julie Claire	...	Dr. Jamie Sellers
David Cross	...	Larry Schwartzman
Shannon Elizabeth	...	Toni
Mike Epps	...	Reggie Marshall
Dennis Farina	...	L.B.J. Deuce Fairbanks
Judy Greer	...	Sharon Andrews
Woody Harrelson	...	One Eyed Jack Faro
Estelle Harris	...	Ruth 'Nana' Melvin
Werner Herzog	...	The German
Cheryl Hines	...	Lainie Schwartzman
Gabe Kaplan	...	Seth Schwartzman
Michael Karnow	...	Mike Werbe
Richard Kind	...	Andy Andrews
Michael McKean	...	Billionaire Steve Lavisch
Chris Parnell	...	Harold Melvin

Also Known As:

Untitled Zak Penn Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some drug content.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino - 129 Fremont Street, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Insomnia Media Group

Trivia:

The script was barely 29 pages long. Zak Penn had the actors improvise.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): An announcer refers to Larry and Lainie Schwartzman as identical twins. Identical twins are always of the same sex.

Quotes:

Harold Melvin: Ruth, if I were a food critic, I would give your cooking five stars -- five stars that had each collapsed into a black hole and merged to form the largest black hole in the universe.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-03-22)" (2008)

The Grand - Puncturing the Pomposity of Poker

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.)