Werner Herzog in The Grand
In that it is impossible to un-know the iconoclastic and perhaps unhinged Fitzcarraldo and Grizzly Man director Werner Herzog, his appearance as "The German" in the ensemble comedy The Grand is still an inspired piece of casting.Owing much to the Christopher Guest school of scripted from improvisation movies, The Grand follows a group of poker players, including Woody Harrelson, Cheryl Hines, David Cross, Richard Kind, and Herzog, through a tournament that means something different to each of them.
Some actors disappear into their characters, like Cross, or they at least do not give the impression that they are improvising. Where The Grand fails is when the audience is aware of an actor's improvising his or her head off, and when it resorts to stock characters (like talking head commentators) better realized in the Guest films.
But Herzog is hilarious as a lotion-smearing, rabbit-clutching gambler/psychopath, and is reason enough to rent this enjoyable effort by writer/director Zak Penn.
The GrandSee also: Anchor Bay Entertainment, Werner Herzog
Labels: actors, comedy, improv, movies, werner herzog, zak penn
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