Written and directed by perennial superhero movie scribe Zak Penn (X-Men: The Last Stand, The Incredible Hulk), The Grand is a mockumentary in the tradition of Spinal Tap, Best in Show and Waiting For Guffman. The story centers around a poker tournament called "The Grand" in which players from around the nation compete for top honors in the poker world. The terrific cast includes Woody Harrelson, David Cross, Chris Parnell, Cheryl Hines, Ray Romano, Denis Farina, Michael McKean and a host of cameos including directors Werner Herzog and Bret Ratner in two of the film's funniest roles. Chris Parnell steals the show as Harold Melvin, a number crunching mama's boy suffering from Asperger's Syndrome. The final tournament was completely unscripted to the point that they didn't know who the winner was until the cast actually played each other in a real live game. The jokes are hit and miss at times, but all in all The Grand is a breezy, fun little comedy and, considering the unscripted nature of the project, it's amazing how many laugh-out-loud moments there are -- certainly far more than most big budget studio comedies.
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