Woody Harrelson giving his best Phil Hellmuth impression on the red carpet before co-winning the Partouche Charity Poker Festival in France.

The occasion was Dennis Hopper’s big 7-2. Woody Harrelson, star of the latest poker-movie flop, The Grand, ended up chopping the $1 million prize pool with French actress Alice Taglioni.

Because no poker media was there, I can’t really tell you much about the set-up or structure or even how the 50 (?!) cameras were working, but I can tell you that Hopper had a 100kg strawberry sponge cake, and in defiance of French anti-smoking laws, lit up a cigar. Tim Robbins ordered a triple-vodka after what presumably was a bad beat/play … ex-Hollywood flames Salma Hayek and Ed Norton were civil to each other at the table, even though Hayek left without saying goodbye. Adrian Brody and Goldie Hawn rounded out the field, both wearing sunglasses.

Fascinating, I know. Dig/click in a little deeper and you’ll learn that Goldie’s daughter Kate Hudson is done with Owen Wilson and now hittin’ it with Lance Armstrong, who is done with Sheryl Crow who long ago was done with Owen Wilson.

Go Poker Celebrities!

Anyhow, so yes, content … sorry for the lack thereof and sorry for the blog-cliche post about being sorry. There’s still plenty going on out there that the poker-minded populace shouldmaybe care about, regardless of my personal battle against homelessness.

As we know, the US is currently trying to figure out how to enforce the UIGEA — the AMERICAN BANKS say they can’t really do it — so now, instead of rewriting our own bad laws, we are pressuring the UK to change theirs.

And here’s an article about EL PASO’S rich gambling history – underground or not — over the past 100+ years, starting with a mayor in 1895 known as “Poker Bob” Campbell.

A NEW BLOG (to me) I am now following semi-regularly: David Matthews’ Gambling in Space.

Through him, I learned about FRANK GAGLIARDI, a California Lottery winner who also likes to gamble and recently won his very relevant (to me and you) court case vs. the IRS:

If this case stands, then it could effectively rewrite tax law and make it easier for gamblers to report losses and more difficult for the IRS to go after gamblers.

BALLY TECHNOLOGY also won a pretty big case in court — against SHUFFLE MASTER, which up to this point has maintained an expensive stranglehold on the automatic shufflers you see in poker tables.

And CALIFORNIA JEN may have loved the poker mockumentary THE GRAND, but not everybody did.

Crap, that’s hardly everything, but I have to run …

This is one of the best comedies I’ve seen in a long time. I laughed myself to tears during several parts of the movie. I walked into the theater with low expectations and left thinking about seeing it again.

The casting was brilliant, as many of the actors are experienced improv comics and had no problem adding their own flavor and likely varying quite a bit from the original script. From Woody Harrelson to Ray Romano, from Richard Kind to Dennis Farina, and from David Cross to Chris Parnell, most everyone took their characters to the highest level. Even Cheryl Hines surprised me – only because I’m not terribly familiar with her work – in her deadpan scenes.

Numerous poker players were strewn throughout the film, like Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Laak, and Antonio Esfandiari. Gabe Kaplan had a main role, which wasn’t tremendously impressive but an integral and sometimes funny role nonetheless. Phil Gordon played a recurring role throughout the movie as the tournament commentator, and he was fantastic. Some of his lines were the best of the movie.

It is highly likely that many of the characters in the film were based on some of the better-known poker players on the tournament circuit. However, when trying to nail down some of the impersonations, it was difficult. All of the main characters each seemed to be mimicking two or three real life poker players rolled into one. For example, Werner Herzog played “The German” who had some similarities to David “Devilfish” Ulliott, but the character was so extreme that it was difficult to determine which other players were combined to create the character. Jason Alexander played Dr. Yakov Achmed perfectly as a Middle Eastern player – a cross between Freddy Deeb, Eli Elezra, Sam Farha, and maybe others – whose country of origin was supposedly unknown to anyone in poker.

Much of the humor was dry and dark. (Think Neil Simon’s Murder by Death.) It was necessary to pay attention at all times, especially as a person in the poker world looking for recognizable faces and scenes, in order not to miss a word, but it paid off in the hilarious one-liners and references.

I’ll be honest. Non-poker fans might find this a mediocre comedy at best. There are numerous references to poker life, terms, and players that will only be funny to those with some knowledge of these nuances of the game.

And poker fans who are looking for the next Rounders won’t find it with The Grand. This is not a film that will make anyone fall in love with poker or want to learn the game. Undoubtedly, that was not the intention of Director Zak Penn.

Some of the characters do things that are exaggerated for comedic effect and certainly not meant as a reflection on true poker life. If the viewer is unable to laugh at himself/herself and some of the craziness that is the poker world, or doesn’t grasp dry humor, the wit may fall on deaf ears.

The only thing that brought the rating down to an A- was the few scenes toward the end of the movie that seemed to slow it down. In addition, Michael McKean’s role as the Vegas entrepreneur was odd and only funny for the first minute or so of his first scene.

Overall, for poker enthusiasts and those who appreciate a niche improv comedic effort, The Grand is a must-see film.

(View clips, synopsis, cast, and show times and cities on the schedule at www.TheGrandTheMovie.com.)

The movie opens in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York City, and Philadelphia next Friday. Click here to see the trailer … and we’ll have to see how many of you/us actually go see the film.

ALT HED: Lucky You 2?

*NSFW