THE GRAND
5 out of 5 stars

mike werbe (poker championship commentator): every time you play a hand of you poker you wanna run through a mental check list. head position hand position neck position breathing posture. more than 25 items. it's a lot. and that why i've come up with a handy mnemonic device. just one word: HPHPNPBPECMSPAMDCPAFTSTTL. it's easy!


OMG this has got to be one of the funniest movies i've seen in a while! it is up there with best in show (mockumentary about dog shows) and spinal tap (mockumentary about a heavy metal band)! this is a mockumentary (a documentary-style comedy) on the ridiculous characters playing in a poker tournament @ the golden nugget in las vegas... PERFECT choice for vegas movie month! ;)

what makes this movie so freakin' AWESOME is the characters and the actors who play them so well... we start out with "one-eyed" jack faro (a drugged up cowboy junkie woody harrelson) who is the grandson of lucky faro, owner of the rabbit's foot in downtown las vegas. he's been married 74 times, and of course, has been in and out of rehab for the past...3 years of his life? OMG...his casino concepts are priceless! then, there's poker savant/sci-fi buff harold melvin (a HILARIOUS chris parnell) who still lives with his mother ruth, and likes to play poker since it's all about probability and chance... lainie and larry schwartzman (both played by a potty-mouth cheryl hines and a HILARIOUS david cross) are two master poker players in their own right. lainie has been women's poker champ for the past couple years, and larry (also lainie's twin bro) has the most ridic costumes and props and tactics to "throw off" his competitors' games. i like how dennis farina plays this old timer deuce fairbanks, who is tremendously nostaglic about the old las vegas, and the montage he shows is priceless. the german (director werner herzog) has a wonderful role as a cut-throat, bunny-lovin' german poker old timer, who apparently kills animals every day to give himself a good rush... (WTF but brilliant character esp. his intro scene!)

there's a lot of improvisation between all of the actors, and i think that's what makes it that much special... the characters all have their quirks and crazy ideas, and the acting is superb. GREAT JOB on the casting! the storyline is pretty awesome too, and you get to see these guys really play a great game of cards. but HANDS DOWN...the best character is andy andrews (richard kind from spin city- now that's a throwback!), who has no idea what he's doing or whether he's winning hands...

BEST LINE from him is: "i got into poker while i was on the internet researching fireplace pokers..." :P