Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn star in this gambling movie. It’s about a gambling addict that is convinced his newfound friend, Reynolds is a good luck charm and takes him with him on a road trip to a high stakes poker game in New Orleans.
It’s no ordinary road trip as the movie deals with human frailties, desires and behaviours and how they react and adjust in a vivid world.
Keeping the Cards Close
The story drifts southwards from Iowa to New Orleans and embraces the loneliness, debts, regrets, and lousy poker hands of these two unlikely friends who want to believe they are winners. Curtis (Ryan Reynolds) is described by Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn) as a “handsome leprechaun”, and initially it would seem he has a likely shot at being a winner. Gerry, on the other hand, is a broke divorced real estate agent who owes money to a loan shark and many other people too. Furthermore, like most gamblers, he believes he’s one lucky break away from turning it all around.
Curtis, a hedonistic gambling drifter, has decent judgement. He knows when to stop gambling and drinking. He has a real affection for Gerry and all he wants is for him to be happy. Gerry, however, is bad news, as he is destructive, passively aggressive, manipulative and unable to control his impulses. It’s the combination of opposites on a quest to fix the unfixable using gambling as the remedy.
Conclusion
Mississippi Grind is about a man who not only gambles with his money but with what’s left of his already ruined life. Moreover, risking everything he has for the sake of a long-shot fantasy that never comes and redeems him in the eyes of those who have written him off. It’s a tale of many gamblers who keep hoping for that big win that never comes.
About Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon aka “Tricky Dicky” was a card shark that partially funded his first run for Congress with his substantial poker winnings.
Nixon, a former US President’s passion for Poker, began when he was at the US Air Force base in the Solomon Islands in 1943. There, he first encountered card games like five-card stud and five-card draw. Nixon was drawn to these card games and learnt that playing tight was the way to go. He became obsessed with the game and would often pass up dinners and one special dinner in particular which was with the famous cross Atlantic flyer Charles Lindbergh.
Richard Nixon was by no means interested in the social aspect of the game. He just wanted to win money. This money assisted in getting him elected into Congress, and the rest is history.
Poker and Politics
Raised in a Quaker family that disliked gambling, Richard Nixon became obsessed with the game as it helped pass the days in the Navy and it was profitable.
A serviceman by the name of James Stewart taught Nixon strategies like play a tight hand and limit bluffs. Nixon was a high roller who played a quiet game but was never afraid of taking chances. He had the ability to smell weakness and would win the pot at all costs by bluffing.
Nixon made more money playing Poker than he did while serving in the Navy as an ensign and pocketed over $150 or more per month. One of his most memorable wins came in 1946 and the $5000 winnings he parlayed into an unbeaten congressional run, money well spent when looking back.
Conclusion
Richard Nixon’s name is synonymous with Mafia bosses and the Watergate Scandal. However, he was a brilliant Poker player and that funded his political career taking him to the White House.