Mississippi Grind

Synopsis: Down on his luck and facing financial hardship, Gerry teams up with a younger, charismatic poker player named Curtis in an attempt to change his luck. The two set off on a road trip through the South with visions of winning back what has been lost.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Production: A24 and DIRECTV
  2 wins & 3 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.4
Metacritic:
77
Rotten Tomatoes:
90%
R
Year:
2015
108 min
$129,747
391 Views


Number eleven.

Some players increase their

chatter when nervous or anxious.

This usually happens with

extroverts who find great

comfort in babbling

to reduce tension.

Number twelve.

Furrowing of the forehead.

Furrowing of the forehead is a

good indicator that something is

amiss or the person is insecure.

It is also seen when people

are concentrating or trying

to make sense of something.

It is usually associated with

doubt, weakness or concern.

Number thirteen.

Sneaking a nose touch.

Sneaking a passifying touch by

ever so slightly rubbing the

nose with the index finger...

Hello.

Hey Gerry.

How's the knee?

Ughhh.

It's getting there.

Good luck.

Hey Gerry.

That was

you on Saturday.

Parking ticket.

What for?

They said the cops...

Anyone know the

spread on the hawkeyes game?

Six points.

Gettin'

warm out there.

It's just weather.

What does that

mean, "it's just weather?"

Warm, cold...

It's just weather, baby.

I like that.

"It's just weather, baby."

Yeah, well,

it's just poker, baby.

How's that?

You like that one?

Anybody see that

rainbow yesterday?

Table seven,

looks like heaven.

How's everybody feeling tonight?

That's okay by me.

Let's play some cards, huh?

Iowa.

Hit me with some Iowa trivia.

Tell me something I don't know.

Like what?

Aces are good right?

Raise.

Six-hundred total.

Call.

Call.

Heads up.

Aces, huh?

Fold.

Thank you very much.

Anybody over

here need any drinks?

Bloody Mary.

Bourbon.

What is the bourbon?

It's just

the cheap stuff.

Make mine a woodford.

Umm, I'm not sure

we have that...

Hey, friend,

you want a woodford?

Aww, no, no no.

Bring him a woodford too.

Uh, no no no.

Cheap stuff's fine with me.

It's fine.

I got it. I got it.

Great.

My old buddy, Tony Roundtree,

does anybody know Tony?

Hosts a high rollers game every

other month in new Orleans.

Anyway, I knew him

up in Detroit...

Are you from Detroit?

Me? Naww.

I'm from all over but I knew

Tony Roundtree in Detroit.

This guy he loved to play

poker but he kept dodging my

invitations to play in the

casinos. Apparently Tony, he

had a little bit of a gambling

problem before I met him.

You guys know about the

disassociated persons list?

You have that in Iowa?

Okay, well in some states you

can put yourself on this list if

you're trying to quit gambling,

which means that you are legally

banned from all

casinos in the state...

- for life.

For life. So you know what

I'm talking about, right,

makes sense. Right? Well, pfft.

Not to Tony.

He puts himself on this list to

show his girlfriend that he's

serious about changing his ways.

Well, a couple

months go by and...

Of course...

She dumps him.

For a guitar player.

It's always a guitar player.

It is always a

guitar player, isn't it?

Why is that?

Nice hands.

- So he's lonely.

- He's depressed.

And he starts getting the

itch to play poker again.

Walks into mgm,

"sorry buddy."

Goes over to Greek

town, "no can do amigo."

Motor city, "no dice pal."

What does he do?

Disguise.

Yes! He puts on

a disguise. Yeah.

Sunglasses, fake

mustache, a wig.

C'mon. A wig?

He walks right through

the doors, blows past security,

sits down at the poker

table and he is in heaven.

He is brand...

- we didn't have woodford,

so sorry about that.

But that is our top shelf.

It's bulleit bourbon.

- Alright.

- I'm not paying for his though.

Excuse me?

Well I said his woodford is on

me and that's not a woodford...

I'm just kidding. I'm

kidding lady. I'm joking.

Here c'mon. Thank you.

Keep the change.

Very cute.

Alright, good

luck to you my friend.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Better than

the cheap sh*t right?

Yeah, not bad.

Placed third.

Congrats.

What's the payoff on that?

Nine-hundred dollars.

What's the score?

Not sure.

Have a seat.

The usual for ya?

Actually, have you got woodford?

- We have that.

- Yeah.

C'mon. Let's get one of those.

Let's get a woodford.

Okay, Oregon's up by six.

That's not so bad. That's okay.

- How much you got on this?

- Uhhh, nine-hundred.

- It's a woodford kindof night.

- What's that mean?

The guy back there shooting

darts, he likes it too.

Hey woodford man!

Next one on me!

Poker man!

I'm Curtis.

Curtis. Nice, like, uh, Toby.

No. Like Mayfield.

Curtis Mayfield.

Okay. I'm Gerry.

- Like Lewis.

- Nope.

Jerry Lewis.

Nope. Gerry, "G" Gerald.

Like Ford I guess.

How'd it go for you tonight?

- Not bad.

- What's not bad?

Second.

Get outta here that's

great. Second.

Coulda been first. Coulda

been first if you didn't

bully me outta that

Mountain before you left.

I can never last in

those tournaments. I...

Why'd you buy in?

I like people.

Yeah?

You shouldda stuck around.

You're a good player.

For a few hours maybe,

but I-I-I don't have

the stamina for poker.

- Yeah?

- Restless.

What's your game.

What do you like?

- Darts.

- Darts? Any good?

I can hit the board. Sure.

I gotta ask you, what...

- What was I holding?

- Yeah.

Pair a deuces.

- Really?

- That's it.

- That's all?

- That's all.

Sh*t. Cause I'm usually

good at readin' people but

you were all over the map.

I can't spot your tell.

- You wanna know why?

- Yeah.

I don't care about winning.

- Oh that's bullshit.

- I really don't.

I just like to play.

I really do.

Did you see that

rainbow yesterday?

Oh. Yeah. That was beautiful.

Gorgeous.

Wasn't that the most

f***ing-amazing-I mean that

- rainbow was beautiful.

- Best rainbow ever.

How come I've

never seen you before?

- Just passin' through.

- Where you headed?

New Orleans.

Awww, man. Man

I love new Orleans!

Me too.

Ohh. You're going to your

friend's home game right?

Who? Tony Roundtree? No, I

don't have that kinda money.

- Then why?

- What do you mean?

What, you just head down to

new Orleans for the hell of it?

Pretty much.

That sounds alright.

That's alright with me.

Dale! Dale.

He just sits

there starin' at me.

Okay buddy, pick a card.

I'll let you see

either of these cards.

Whichever card he

turns over he's gonna think

it's a full boat.

Aw that's beautiful.

Yeah, it really was. Ha.

Okay umm, heads or tails.

Tails.

Yeah. Again. Hold on.

Aaand, call it.

Tails.

Where did you come from?

Noo! Noo!

Hey, Denise, do

you have any coconut oil?

I have lotion.

So, umm, your his, uh...

Just friends.

Thanks for the couch.

You want breakfast?

Dog races start at one.

What time is it?

Nine-thirty.

Aww, sh*t.

Oh, sh*t.

- What's wrong?

- I have work.

You have a job?

Yeah, where did I park the car?

Hey, look at this.

See that?

Look who's running the sixth

race:
Dynamic Rainbow.

Is that not our dog?

Look me in the eye and

tell me that's not our dog.

- That's a good name.

- That's a great name.

Umm.

Here.

Go on, count it.

Oh no, that's ok.

Naw, that's alright.

Thrusting a stranger, Gerry.

It's just one of those things.

I think that I'm finally

starting to understand what

you guys are after and

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Anna Boden

Anna Boden is an American film director, cinematographer, editor, and screenwriter best known as the co-writer of the 2006 film Half Nelson. She is known for her collaborations with fellow filmmaker Ryan Fleck. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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    "Mississippi Grind" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Dec. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/mississippi_grind_13886>.

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