Hitting the Nuts (2010) watch online HD

Hitting the Nuts is the 'true' story of the 2009 Scott County, Indiana Poker Championship as told by those who were there. This mockumentary follows the town preacher, busty waitress, lovable redneck dad, portly returning champion and a simple Amish farmer as they do battle in the town's annual, illegal Texas Hold 'em Tournament.

This movie was extremely well done and I was shocked to hear that almost the entire dialog was improvised.

Hitting the Nuts is an entertaining and funny exploration of a small town poker tournament. This is truly one of those independent "gems" that deserves a much wider audience.

Hitting the Nuts is about an illegal annual poker tournament held in Scott County Indiana every year. It has everything from an Amish farmer trying to save his farm to a rude and crude (and hilariously played) redneck, a preacher, a priest, a bawdy waitress and more all contending for the grand prize.

Each cast member was well suited for their individual roles. Believable and competitive poker players all told from a documentary (mockumentary) point of view with a camera following contestants from before and through to the end of the tournament.

The best part of this film is that it is almost all improvisational, so the lines are all on the spot hilarious. The things you typically think but wouldn't say are said here with witty and amusing results.

There are no grand twists and turns in the plot, just plain fun and just plain funny.

For many years, faux documentaries (or 'mockumentaries') have been a popular form of filmmaking, especially among young or low-budget filmmakers because it offers a simple way of giving an excuse for lower-level productions while still being effective (think 'Blair Witch'). When this style of filmmaking is used in the comedic genre, there is no match for the films of Christopher Guest, whose genius has led to such great films as 'This Is Spinal Tap!' and 'Best In Show.' Because Guest is just so damn good, it seems many other directors try to imitate his style as much as possible. This is true of director, writer, actor, and producer Joe Boyd, who has transported the Guestian (yes, he deserves his own word) style of mockumentaries to the poker world with 'Hitting the Nuts.' As an avid poker player and fan, even before the ESPN-boosted 'poker boom,' I was intrigued by the idea of this film. 'The Grand,' direceted by Zak Penn' had already done a comedic mockumentary with a stellar cast, but it wasn't an overwhelming success in any real way. Here, though, as the film focused on an illegal small-town tourney, a famous cast would not be necessary. Therefore, the director could easily manage a solid film without big names. One problem Boyd did face here, though, is just how difficult it is to make a great poker movie. Out of the many, many attempts to bring the game to the cinema, only a few can really be considered great. 'The Cincinnati Kid,' 'Rounders,' and 'Maverick' made their mark, but not a whole lot more.

From the first frame of 'Hitting the Nuts,' viewers will realize not to take the film seriously. At all. That's because Joe Boyd's film is just purely silly comedy; and, even though it's not the most well written comedy one will find, the over-the-top script & acting do yield some hearty laughs. The humour is not for everyone, though, especially due to the ridiculous characters & unbelievable situations. However, many will still enjoy the film's sarcastic wit and hilarious one-liners.

Perhaps one of the most important factors that many filmmakers in the poker subgenre neglect is the actual cardplay. Make it too realistic and it can get boring fast. Take it over the-the-top and real players will be rolling their eyes before the river hits the felt. For the most part, the gameplay here struck a reasonable balance . . . except the few errors like the lack of burn cards and having a board end on the turn instead of the river. Pretty annoying.

Overall, the film does have some irritating factors that affecti t as a whole; but, for its budget and style, it is quite a funny & enjoyable poker movie.

Final Verdict: 6/10.

-AP3-

The filming was good. I think they did a really good job with the budget that they did it on. I just wasn't following the comedy aspect. I saw it during a film festival and chuckled a few times but overall, not really worth the time. There are already so many mediocre movies in the world, not sure why we need another one. The plot wasn't very strong and there was maybe one likable character (I think a lot more were supposed to be likable) and the rest were unbelievable, overboard and frankly, kind of irritating. I think it had less to do with the actors and more to do with the storyline, the script and/or the writing. Sometimes, it seems that actors have to make the best with what they are given. It was made by the pastor of my friends church which was awkward to me. Maybe I'm old-fashioned. You probably won't be mad for taking the time to watch it but I wouldn't really recommend it unless you have absolutely nothing else to do.