Wow! Such a good movie.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Obviously the movie is not just about gambling addiction. But that aspect of the movie is portrayed quite accurately. Everyone knows what to expect from Ryan Reynolds, and he did a good job with his acting. But Mendelsohn's performance is immensely underrated. He portrays the sadness, the desperation, the hopelessness, the emptiness, the soullessness... everything that hides behind the eyes and within the mind of a gambling addict. He knows that gambling is not about winning money at all. (And the soundtrack is GREAT!). I will use this opportunity to recommend "Owning Mahowny" if you are interested in seeing another great movie about gambling addiction with the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman. I give "Mississippi Grind" 6.5/10

A good buddy road movie with a difference. Our heroes are actually junkies of an overlooked yet very destructive drug - gambling. Like the more infamous alcohol and chemical substances, this drug tears families apart and makes some people destitute. This isn't a Cool Hand Luke were you hustle your way through games to pay for the big tournament to be crowned the best pool player. This is hard core addiction as opposed to recreational thrills. They'll bet on dogs, horses, ballgames or sports they know little about but odds look good. Games of chance they'll take it on, poker / blackjack and dice. They win big it's not enough, it ended with the last show of cards or roll of dice. Need the thrill again, even bigger, everything you've won on a single throw of a card or dice. Real life says this never ends well.

As much as I wouldn't expect to be re-watching for the third time in a row a movie starring one of Hollywood's "men of the hour", it is Reynolds' truly stellar performance that kept me glued to the screen. What I particularly appreciate about the movie is how well crafted the two leading characters are and the particular depth that Reynolds adds to the drifting casino-frequenting thrill-seeker he plays (who by his own admission is better at darts than gambling and is a casino regular simply because he "likes people"). Curtis (Reynolds' character) is a sort of a perennial wanderer, set on a journey of discovery, oblivious however as to what exactly it is he is searching for. A typical "lost soul" in the Gen X sense, Curtis loathes any sort of predictability and never stays in one place for too long and has a debilitating fear of committing to places and people - love interests, too. Reynolds manages to turn Curtis into a likable character one could relate to so much so that when he professes his love to his on again-off again casino hostess girlfriend, it almost looks like he is finally ready to settle down and anchor "in love". But, love is the ultimate gamble for him, something he is yet unprepared for, with the next roll of the dice at the next casino holding more appeal. The thrill of the "open road" and the endless possibilities it brings with it have been nicely captured in this movie, depicting the very essence of the American dream which lies in the understanding that, in Curtis's own words, "the journey is the destination".

There's nothing worse than a movie that is out of touch with reality and the issues that it is supposed to be portraying, so I approached 'Mississippi Grind' with caution and was half-expecting an inaccurate and unrealistic depiction of a gambling addict.I was pleasantly surprised - the movie was well written and acted, with two great performances from Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds as Gerry and Curtis. The movie places more emphasis on content and dialogue than anything else and is somewhat pedestrian, but still manages to be engaging.I thought this was a solid and commendable attempt at portraying a gambling addiction. Certainly not a perfect movie but a well-made and accurate one, which is what I had hoped for.