Review: Mississippi Grind

Divorced, financially struggling loser Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn), clearly a problem gambler, takes up with cocky poker player Curtis (Ryan Reynolds) to travel from Iowa to a poker tournament in New Orleans. Gerry hopes to hit a run of good luck with his new buddy and maybe win back his family, too. However, as their fortunes start to sour, Curtis begins to wonder if he chose the right guy to travel and gamble with. Sienna Miller and the adorable Analeigh Tipton play a couple of hookers, Marshall Chapman plays Ryan Reynolds’ musician mother, James Toback (writer of 1974’s “The Gambler”) has a cameo as a guy running a poker game, and Alfre Woodard has a cameo as Gerry’s cordial but serious bookie.

 

Co-writer/co-director team Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (who previously gave us the acclaimed “Half-Nelson”) don’t know whether they want this 2015 film to be about loser gamblers or successful gamblers, so they try to give us a bit of both. It doesn’t work and wastes two good performances by Ryan Reynolds and especially Ben Mendelsohn. Aussie Mendelsohn is a picture perfect specimen of a loser gambling addict and Reynolds is quite charismatic as the possibly untrustworthy, slick gambler who seems to love the sound of his own voice. They’re terrific, but because the two characters seem to exist in separate films, it ends up a bit of a dud as Boden and Fleck awkwardly try to have their cake and eat it too. The ending in particular is almost criminally inappropriate for what has preceded it. It just feels wrong, and the characters certainly don’t earn such an ending.

 

It also doesn’t really seem to have much to say, certainly nothing interesting or new. It’s meandering and never really ends up much of anywhere, nor is it remotely interested in poker. In fact, when Mendelsohn (clearly playing a problem gambler) initially hooks up with the cocky and far too chatty Reynolds, you get the feeling this is gonna be a film about Reynolds conning Mendelsohn and getting him into a lotta trouble. Instead, it meanders around without really settling in any direction or arriving at any purpose and Reynolds’ character seems to lose his sense of humour and gregariousness after his first two scenes. Was there a lot of re-writing involved here? Post-production tinkering maybe? Either way, it plays very awkwardly and unsatisfactorily. Something just isn’t right.

 

I love poker and it was great to see the very talented and versatile Ben Mendelsohn getting a lead role in an American film, but it’s easy to see why I hadn’t heard of this one prior. It’s just not very good, and the kind of “Midnight Cowboy” relationship between the two lead characters and some fine performances can only take it so far. Alfre Woodard, as usual, is very fine in a rather uncharacteristic role, and the blues soundtrack is excellent, but that’s about it. Sienna Miller, meanwhile, continues to be the acting equivalent of beige wallpaper.

 

Two fine performances playing characters whose stories seem more at odds with one another than at the service of one narrative. The characters themselves are interesting, the film they inhabit isn’t. This just doesn’t come off at all, and the title makes no sense. There’s no grinding here, in regards to the poker application of that particular term. What the hell? At any rate, watch “The Gambler” (either version) instead if you want to see a film about gambling addiction, or “The Cincinatti Kid” if you want a great poker movie. It was good to see Sam Elliott as Reynolds’ mother, though. What? Watch the film and tell me I’m lyin’, OK?

 

Rating: C