I have an addiction. I cannot stop myself from buying DVDs. Whenever I go out to any big store or shopping center, I find myself attracted to the shelves swollen with new and used DVDs. To try and keep myself from starving to death, I have set out on a quest to find quality new and used DVDs for a great price. The magic number I’m looking for is $5 or under, pretax. My first venture took me to Best Buy’s $5 bargain bin, and, after sifting through some less than desirable films, I stumbled onto an overlooked gem from a few years back.

The Grand is a false documentary in the style of This is Spinal Tap or Best in Show that highlights the lives of several professional poker players on their journey to play for ten million dollars in a televised tournament of Texas Hold ‘Em. The impressive stable of comedic talent on board for this picture includes Woody Harrelson as Jack Faro (the closest thing we get to a central character) who is exiting drug rehab and entering the grand champion tournament to save the casino/hotel his grandfather left him. He makes it to the final table against David Cross and Cheryl Hines playing competing siblings Lainie and Larry Schwartzman, Chris Parnell playing the mathematically inclined Harold, Richard Kind as a very funny clueless berk named Andy Andrews, and, my personal favorite, Dennis Farina playing the grizzled, and somewhat racist, old-timer named Deuce. The parade of hilarious character actors doesn’t stop there. The supporting cast includes Jason Alexander, Hank Azaria, Ray Ramano, and Michael McKean, just to name a few. Movie snobs might be surprised to see legendary director Werner Herzog playing a sadistic German poker player simply named The German. This movie is a real treat for five bucks and will be fun for anyone with a taste for dry humor.