Maybe we're witnessing the rebirth of the modern gambling movie? Just weeks after Mark Wahlberg's remake of The Gambler, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden are giving us another look at those who like to risk it all in Mississippi Grind, a film about two guys teetering on opposite ends of Lady Luck's scale. Fleck and Boden, who excelled with the Ryan Gosling-led character drama Half Nelson, won modest praise for the documentary Sugar, and were completely ignored for the underrated It's Kind of a Funny Story, have dealt out an enjoyable but not entirely successful road trip story of second chances and the fickle whims of fate.
The ever-busy Ben Mendelsohn stars as down-on-his-luck Gerry, a guy who seems basically born to lose. It's like he's got William H. Macy's character in The Cooler (another great gambling flick) hovering over his life at all times. "I'm bad with money" he admits mournfully, but there's a cheeky smile when explaining that he owes money to "everybody". His losing streak comes to an abrupt end when Curtis (Ryan Reynolds) sweeps into a poker match and wins everybody's admiration, most of all Gerry's. Who is this cool cat, anyway? Curtis is a total pariah but he's slick, charming, funny, and always seems to know the right thing to say. He's got confidence in spades, something Gerry may have once had but hasn't for a very long time. After a thinly veiled threat from his bookie (Alfre Woodard in a surprising turn), Gerry convinces Curtis to go on the grind from Mississippi to New Orleans, hitting all of the action on the way to a high-stakes finale.
While the film has elements of buddy road trip comedies, it owes a much larger debt to the shaggy dog gambling films of decades past, from California Split to James Toback's original The Gambler. To emphasize the point, Toback even shows up in a brief cameo and the scene has all of the musculature one would expect if he were writing the screenplay himself. While we see Gerry and Curtis bond on their journey, ultimately the film is about their self-destructive qualities, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Curtis travels the country on a lark, stopping to visit the prostitute girlfriend Simone (Sienna Miller) he can't admit to loving. Meanwhile, Gerry is just a complete degenerate. At first we find his sadsack qualities somewhat endearing but that fades as he lies, cheats, and steals to feed his habit. Fleck and Boden fight to make him sympathetic again, but by the time Curtis has had enough of him it's a wonder he hadn't folded already.
The bromantic chemistry between Mendelsohn and Reynolds goes a long way, though, and the film is always worthy of our attentions. The gambling scenes have the energetic spark of high-risk action, and the dialogue runs fast and free like the spin of a roulette wheel. It's the somber, reflective moments that don't quite ring true. We keep hoping they'll find another poker tournament to enter when the guys start wallowing in their self-pity. Backed by a wonderfully bluesy soundtrack and smoky barroom cinematography, the film's aesthetic touches put you right in the moment waiting for the turn of the river and the roll of the dice.
Of course there's the promise of a huge payout at the end of Gerry and Curtis' journey, but Fleck and Boden don't seem to know when to cash out. Instead the film continues to play hand-after-hand, hitting the same themes repeatedly and passing on every natural point to wrap up. Perhaps they were waiting for the big score of a crowdpleasing finish, but it doesn't really mesh with the film's somewhat downbeat tone. Mississippi Grind has a number of strong cards in its favor but barely manages to play a winning hand.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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