Posted May 3, 2007
The Grand
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Michael McKean, Dennis Farina, David Cross, Chris Parnell, Cheryl Hines, Richard Kind, Ray Romano, Werner Herzog
Director: Zak Penn
Forgetting for a moment how dubious and flat-out unnecessary it is for Tribeca to tout an ESPN-sponsored sidebar of sports-themed films, observant filmgoers might recognize that this tournament poker mockumentary doesn't really fit the bill as... well, a mockumentary. X-Men: The Last Stand screenwriter Zak Penn's directorial follow-up to his mock-doc Incident at Loch Ness is a heavily improvised ensemble comedy, but in its ill-conceived structure and half-assed execution, only a handful of confessional interviews mark any semblance to doc-style filmmaking.
A mutton-chopped Woody Harrelson stars as our narrating protagonist, a self-medicating Vegas burnout who has been married and divorced more than 75 times. Blink and you'll miss the plot: Fresh out of rehab yet again, Harrelson is forced to enter a championship poker game with a $10-million prize in order to save his grandfather's casino from aloof billionaire Michael McKean (whose grand idea is a twin-towered hotel, conceived as a single, million-dollar-a-night room with an air shaft in-between). From there, a cavalcade of one-dimensionally quirky competitors provide a reasonable amount of laughs, including standouts Dennis Farina as a wicked old-timer, David Cross as a pro under contractual obligation to wear a hat labeled "icantbelieveigettoplaypokerdotcom777.net," Dune-obsessed nerdling Chris Parnell, and a bunch of Larry David's cronies (Cheryl Hines, Richard Kind, and a Jason Alexander cameo).
The Grand
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The interpersonal dynamics haven't been scripted out very thoughtfully, so as the final 20 minutes wind down, it becomes increasingly tough for Penn and his talented cast to mine humor from a story that mandates they actually play elimination rounds of poker. If it ever makes its way to DVD, however, there are a few moments of inspired comic genius that justify the Netflix rental. For instance, Ray Romano shines in a supporting role as Hines' emasculated, fantasy football-obsessed hubby with an obsession for making up handshakes and a dream investment in round beach towels. And the coup de grace is Penn's Incident at Loch Ness buddy — and one of the greatest living filmmakers today — Werner Herzog, who provides the film's biggest yuks as "The German," a gold-toothed, brass knuckle-baring, rabbit-owning card shark. Between his slo-mo entrance to gangsta rap and his admission to killing an animal every day to make himself feel alive, Herzog's deadpan mops the floor with those other comic mainstays.
— Aaron Hillis
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