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With all the intense poker action going on every day during the events of the WSOP it is easy to forget the light and fun side of the game. The Grand, a DVD that never really made it to the theatres, at least around me, delivers that fun side in spades.

I have always sorted movies into three categories. First there are the good to great movies that must be seen on the big screen. This category includes all movies with big special effects, heavy action or suspense, and even those that are just beautiful to watch. I don’t mind paying $50 (4 tickets plus snacks) to take my family out to see these. Then there are the good to great movies that are worth watching but have little extra value when shown in a tremendous format.

Some of these movies are great more for the dialogue, be it clever of funny or perhaps touching or emotionally charged, but either way I can enjoy them just as much at home for a $2 DVD rental as I would on the big screen. In fact, during some of my wife’s picks, like Sex and the City, or the just plain gross in parts, Brokeback Mountain, I can tactfully excuse myself for a few minutes to hit the kitchen or some other room and still enjoy the movie. Then there are those movies that have little or no redeeming value and are not only not worth the $2 to rent but not even worth my time to watch for free – a recent example of this category is Semi-Pro.

The Grand is definitely in category two. I had read mixed to bad things about this movie so I went into it with few expectations. In fact, even the kid who works at the local Blockbuster, who I always talk movies with and usually agree with gave it only a lukewarm review. Of course, I asked him if he played poker and he answered, “A little,” which means he doesn’t really play.

The Grand has a really cool cast led by an actor who is no stranger to poker, Woody Harrelson and including veterans of an old poker show I used to watch too much, Celebrity Poker Showdown, David Cross, Cheryl Hines, Dennis Farina, and Chris Parnell. A surprise is how deadpan funny Phil Gordon is as he essentially plays himself, “covering” the tournament for the media.

Speaking of funny, there are a lot of really good inside jokes about poker in this movie. Some stand on their own merit, but there are many things that I found anywhere from mildly amusing to outright laugh out loud funny that my wife just didn’t get at all. From the psycho antics of David Cross to the little “throw away” bits about the poker world in general, there was plenty to smile about in The Grand. While it wasn’t exactly on the level of say, Airplane or Kentucky Fried Movie in laughs per minute, The Grand has enough of those moments to merit re-watching.

The biggest surprise of all to me was that while I was watching, I actually started to care who was going to win the tournament. The biographical stories of the players were well done and even had a few surprises, though the biggest one of all is hugely telegraphed. Still, the plot was good enough that it engaged me from the start. And, when I learned that most of the movie was improvised I was floored. Big kudos to the actors for some of the best improve work I’ve seen outside the classic, Whose Line is it Anyway?

One last note, don’t skip the special features after you watch the movie. There were some good laughs and also some very interesting things said in the commentaries. Usually I skip this part as I prefer the scenes when I can hear the dialogue, but this was very entertaining.

So, if you need a break from all the serious poker, rent this movie. Maybe your non-poker-playing friends and spouses won’t get all the jokes, but this is not a movie for them, though they may like it also. Instead, The Grand is a comedy for us, the real poker players. Heck, I may just go out and buy the darn thing.