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The Grand (2007)

tomatometer

38

Average Rating: 5.2/10
Reviews Counted: 42
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 26

The Grand has moments of comic ingenuity, but the jokes in this poker satire often miss.

40

Average Rating: 5.1/10
Critic Reviews: 15
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 9

The Grand has moments of comic ingenuity, but the jokes in this poker satire often miss.

audience

44

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 2,862

My Rating

Movie Info

Incident at Loch Ness director Zak Penn takes the helm for this mockumentary that finds film and television star Woody Harrelson entering the Grand Championship of Poker in hopes of saving his late grandfather's popular hotel casino from a scheming real estate developer. As the wrecking ball swings ever closer, Harrelson continually ups the ante in order to take home the top prize at the world's most prestigious poker tournament. Co-stars Ray Romano, Werner Herzog, Cheryl Hines, David Cross, and

R, 1 hr. 44 min.

Comedy

Zak Penn, Matt Bierman

Jun 10, 2008

Anchor Bay Entertainment

Cast

All Critics (42) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (26)

Just showing us what ex-sitcom stars and Bavarian directors do in their spare time isn't quite enough to justify The Grand, which does for poker what Best in Show did for dogs while completely avoiding any jokes about poker-playing canines.

April 10, 2008 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

You eventually get the feeling that the actors are riffing mainly for each other. Their attitude is, 'We're talented, trust us, we know how to be funny,' but in the end, it's mostly just a bluff.

April 4, 2008 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film is not much more than a gusher of oddball character sketches and ricocheting gags, but its manic pace and over-the-top inventiveness make The Grand a solid bet.

April 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Comment
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's hard to believe that a lineup so stellar could generate so few laughs, but there it is.

April 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | Comment
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's obvious that The Grand's director, Zak Penn, set out to make the Best in Show of high-stakes poker, but to raise the ante, he piles up the absurdities and zany backstories.

March 26, 2008 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | Comment
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There's a lot of material there in the poker world that is ripe for satire but it misses the boat here almost always.

March 24, 2008 Comment
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Decided that sticking to the formula was more important than letting something organic or crazy happen.

November 19, 2009 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

A collection of sketches does not add up to a drama in this case

September 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Playback:stl | Comment
Playback:stl

For every scene that goes nowhere -- and there are more than a few -- there's some comedy gold lurking around the corner.

September 2, 2008 Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | Comment
Lessons of Darkness

THE GRAND has it's funny moments, and there were some things that I laughed hard at, but it's 104 minutes, which is much too long to be consistently funny.

June 8, 2008 Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | Comment
Sin Magazine

The year's big dramatic gambling hit, 21, is all plot, no personality; The Grand, a comedy that follows six contenders into the finals of a poker tournament, is all personality, no plot. I'll take personality.

April 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | Comment
Baltimore Sun

The Grand gambles on its cast's improv chops but comes up only with a pair of sevens.

April 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Washington Times | Comment

Without Cheryl Hines or Chris Parnell, The Grand would be a fast fold.

April 10, 2008 Full Review Source: Let's Not Listen | Comment
Let's Not Listen

There's nothing under the surface of the comedy, although it's rarely less than amusing and frequently hilarious.

April 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | Comment
Antagony & Ecstasy

The new film The Grand should have been called Werner Herzog Steals the Show because that's precisely what he does in this mockumentary about a poker tournament.

April 7, 2008 Comment (1)
KPBS.org

One-eyed Jack Faro's chances aren't assured but low odds amusement is yours for the buy-in. Satire has been dealt better hands with less bluff.

April 6, 2008 Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | Comment
Cinema Signals

Worth a gamble.

April 4, 2008 Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | Comment
St. Paul Pioneer Press

There may be too many cooks here, too many TV stars trying to make an impression in a relatively high-profile independent film, but they connect just often enough to leave you smiling.

April 4, 2008 Full Review Source: Seattle Times | Comment
Seattle Times

There are small pleasures, but not many. It especially underwhelms when you consider how Penn seemed to have found a new paradigm for this now-hoary comic form.

April 4, 2008 Full Review Source: Oregonian | Comment
Oregonian

There's enough good material in the first act to almost merit a recommendation, but, like a poker player who just stops getting dealt the cards he needs, the film runs out of chips long before the credits roll.

April 4, 2008 Full Review Source: The Deadbolt | Comment
The Deadbolt

[Director Zak] Penn eases into the candid style and subdued rhythms of the mockumentary with a breezy confidence.

April 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Comment
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Grand

Larry Schwartzman: I can psych the shit out of people. I don't need cards to beat you. I can literally have no cards, and I would still beat you. You think that's not playing fairly, or that's not the way a gentleman plays? I would fight you over that. A film similar to the mockumentaries like Best in Show made by

March 1, 2008
DrZeek

Super Reviewer

If you like poker then you will love this movie! The Grand is a spoof of the World Series of Poker Tournament. The witty dialogue is funny, and it has great cameos.

June 29, 2008
DerekA101
Derek A

Super Reviewer

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