The Grand
(2006/Anchor Bay)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: D
Another
feature understandably issued belatedly to DVD, Zak Penn’s shockingly unfunny
gambling comedy The Grand (2006)
features Woody Harrelson and too much very, very bad voice over work by him in
this shockingly lame look at the world of big money poker playing. Dennis Farina and the obnoxious Ray Romano
are also among the cast wasted in this “who greenlit this mess” mess.
Werner
Herzog even shows up (!?!) but a good screenplay (co-written by Penn) does
not. Penn may keep getting work, but
does he even really like what he is making?
Arthur Penn he’s not, but anything for the money, which is pretty much
the problem with the whole industry. His
directing is even worse than his writing, in being stale, awkward, weak and
even pointless, with any attempts at style embarrassing at best. When the chips are this down, anything this
bad should be cashed out before it gets made.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is softer than it should be for a new
production, has some bad digital credits and is unimpressive throughout, as are
the Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo mixes.
They are flat, dialogue and voice-overs suffer and the idea of a
soundfield is as unfounded as an original idea.
Extras include deleted scenes, alternate endings that don’t work, select
commentaries with various actors, full length commentary with Penn, co-writer
Matt Bierman & actor Michael Karnow and “player profiles”. At least Kenny Rogers stayed away!
- Nicholas Sheffo
