The Grand
Anchor Bay Entertainment | Release Date: March 21, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
9
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Film ThreatDon R. Lewis
The Grand is a fast and furious comedic attack that begs to be seen again. There’s just so much going on, it’s nearly impossible to keep up. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Delivers plenty of sharply funny moments. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie Punter
What makes The Grand a memorable comedy is that the main stories are really about families – how they screw you up and how they save you. And you don't have to understand poker to know the rules of that game. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Nearly every actor has his or her moments of hilarity, but it's the surprises, like Herzog's terrific turn as a bunny-loving sadist, that make the biggest impact. Read full review
75
PremiereAaron Hillis
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. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
While not a grand-slam comedy, the offbeat humor and easy byplay gives The Grand a winning hand. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
The Grand is a seesaw, but the setting--the high-stakes poker subculture--is remarkably fertile and the actors are a treat. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJim Ridley
It has a lot of affection for its screwy characters, and it has a cast worth watching even when the plot's held captive by a bunch of boring cards. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
What The Grand lacks in originality it more than makes up for with its high percentage of funny moments. Read full review
67
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
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. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The Grand is in the grand tradition of Christopher Guest "mockumentary" comedy satires: Its greatest asset is its eclectic, quirky-funny cast. Read full review
60
VarietyRonnie Scheib
Safer, more conventional and closer to broad TV sketch humor than Christopher Guest's comedies of manners, The Grand never quite recoups in laughs what it loses in spontaneity. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
The actors certainly look as if they’re having a good time, and if you’re in the right mood, you might too. Read full review
60
Washington PostJohn Anderson
Wildly uneven but often quite funny, The Grand allows its actors to act out, get the "E!" out of their systems and give the Christopher Guest treatment to professional gambling without Christopher Guest, with whom it would have been funnier and a lot more acerbic. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Typical of bad improv, the inmates take over the asylum, leaving a movie that's little more than a loose, wildly uneven assemblage of individual comedic shtick. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
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. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Each of these improv farceurs wins a few laughs. But not enough. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
There's a lot of truly hilarious material in The Grand. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
A defective poker comedy where the poker is a lot more interesting than the people playing it. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesJan Stuart
Lacks any sort of urgency or inner propulsion; the actors do their little goofs, then hand them off to the next, lending the jest the frolicking but ultimately monotonous quality of a game of tag. Read full review
38
New York PostLou Lumenick
Well, nobody said The Grand was another "Best in Show." Read full review
25
Chicago TribuneMaureen M. Hart
It’s hard to believe that a lineup so stellar could generate so few laughs, but there it is. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
The performers don't really seem at the top of their game here. Read full review
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