Woody Harrelson has his poker face on, all right. Those are some nice sideburns, too.

What is “The Grand” all about? And what the heck is a ‘mockumentary’? Well, think ‘This is Spinal Tap’, but substitute the glamor of rock ‘n roll for the glamor of high-stakes poker. Now add in actors Woody Harrelson, Michael McKean, Dennis Farina, Ray Romano, Chris Parnell (and a bunch of other directors), and you’ve got the making of a goofy, experimental poker comedy.

Produced during the recent writers’ strike, director Zach Penn assures moviegoers that the film’s script did not suffer one bit. Having so many directors on hand to move the story along through improv rather than rewrites, Penn says, has given the movie plenty of life: “An improvisational movie strives to avoid the life-sucking qualities of the rewrite process.”

With a tag line like this, “a comedy about the fine art of losing”, you have to know that you’re not likely to pick up any winning poker tips just by watching this movie. But a good laugh? Now that’s a good bet.

Read more reviews on “The Grand” here.