Starring: Woody Harrelson, Chris Parnell Directed By: Zak Penn Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen Label: Anchor Bay - ITN Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: June 10, 2008 Running Time: 104 minutes Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Product Description: Woody Harrelson stars as One-Eyed Jack Faro a not-quite-fully-rehabbed gambler party monster and serial marry-er hoping to save his late grandfather s hotel-casino by winning $10 million cash at The Grand Championship Of Poker. But fi rst he ll have to beat a Vegas fi eld of geeks gurus online amateurs greedy developers ruthless housewives old-school pros and more of the top players in the world for the largest prize in poker history. Jason Alexander Ray Romano Mike Epps Judy Greer Werner Herzog Gabe Kaplan Michael McKean Phil Gordon and Doyle Brunson co-star in this no-limit comedy from director Zak Penn (Incident At Loch Ness).System Requirements:Running Time: 104 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/BUDDY FILMS Rating: R UPC: 013131550993 Manufacturer No: DV15509
Occasionally hilarious I really enjoyed Zak Penn's previous feature, Incident at Loch Ness, which was really strange and quite funny. Unfortunately, The Grand, while occasionally quite funny, is kind of a mess.
In The Grand, a movie about a high-stakes poker tournament, it seems like the director just gave the actors bare outlines of their characters and said "do something funny." The whole thing is a pretty clear attempt to make a movie like Best in Show (Penn goes so far as to use Michael McKean in a small role), but the results just aren't as good.
The problem I often have with ensemble casts is that usually some of the performers are much better than others, but they all get about the same amount of screen time. In The Grand, Richard Kind, Chris Parnell, and Ray Romano seem to base their entire performances on one or two quirks, and really, they aren't very interesting. Werner Herzog, who I would probably watch reading the phone book, is criminally underutilized, and is essentially one joke that keeps repeating itself. Woody Harrelson, David Cross, and Denis Farina all have some hilarious scenes, but they're few and far between.
The movie also features Celebrity Poker Tournament commentator Phil Gordon as...the tournament's commentator. Gordon's color commentator, played by Michael Karnow, is a combination of Fred Willard's character in Best in Show and Jason Bateman's character in Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (Unrated Edition), except that he isn't funny.
The biggest problem is that the movie is terribly lopsided. The first half or so is pretty good, giving background on the players and showing them working their way toward the final, big-money game. Unfortunately, once they get there, the movie slows to a crawl and the comedy mostly disappears.
Overall, The Grand is a really problematic movie with a few hilarious lines. For fans of Michael McKean's ensemble improv comedies, I'd suggest renting this one. For others, I'd say skip it.
It was okay Being a fan of Zak Penn (X-Men, Incredible Hulk) and Woody Harrelson I expected to like this movie more than I did. Most of the actors in this film don't get the credit they deserve.
The cast was an excellent choice for an improv style film. They handled their scenes well and some of them left you wishing they had more screen time.
I'm not a big fan of televised poker. It gives me that same feeling as when I flip the channel and find bowling. There's just not enough going on to keep my attention (Generation X). However after watching The Grand I might give it a chance on one of those evenings when nothing is on. Thanks to DVR that doesn't happen too often.
I'm not in the minority giving this movie 3 stars. At the time of my review that's the average. I don't believe that most people will either love or hate this film I think that most people will feel neutral. Like my earlier comment regarding watching poker when nothing else is on I give this film the same attention. If you don't have anything else to watch then The Grand will suit you nicely.
great movie director gives many funny actors the freedom to show their skills. great movie if you don't play poker. A must-see if you do.
The Grand Hugely disappointing. May deserve more than the one star, but considering how incredibly good Penn's "Loch Ness" was, this was such a let down. Some of the characters are quite irritating and lot of the time it's just unfunny.
The Grand Is Grand Fun! In this hilarious ensemble comedy from writer/director Zak Penn, actors Woody Harrelson, David Cross, Dennis Farina, Cheryl Hines, Richard Kind and Chris Parnell are an eclectic group of poker players, each hoping to win $10 million cash at The Grand Championship Of Poker. Through humorous backstories, viewers not only get to know the players but also what is at stake for each of them. This, I feel, vests the viewer more in the characters' poker playing scenes during The Grand Championship, as opposed to 104 minutes of non-stop poker playing from characters the viewer knows hardly anything about. Rated R for language and some drug content, the humor and style of The Grand, for me, is more in the vein of Election (1999) and NBC's The Office. The Grand, at a running time of 104 min. features a fine score by Stephen Endleman, excellent cinematography, Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) video, Dolby Surround 5.1 & 2.0 audio, plus the follwing Special Features: Alternate Ending, Deleted Scenes, Wild Cards: Player Profiles, Audio Commentary with Zak Penn (Writer/Producer/Director), Matt Bierman (Writer/Executive Producer) and Michael Karnow (Actor). Despite its pedigree, The Grand was still a gamble, as it is with most ensemble comedies these days. Luckily, it paid off.
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