Modern audiences may best know Ryan Reynolds for his star performance in Marvel’s “Deadpool” films. Others may be fans of the actor from his “Van Wilder” and “Just Friends” days. But beyond his superhero garb and comedic chops, Ryan Reynolds has also acted in several independent films that critics have adored. One of these lesser-known movies is actually on Netflix right now, and we recommend streaming it before it rotates out of the library. It’s a 2015 film called “Mississippi Grind” that co-stars Reynolds and Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn.
Co-written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the story follows Gerry (Mendelsohn) and Curtis (Reynolds), two gamblers with a penchant for taking gambling too far. It turns out Gerry owes money to a loan shark (Alfre Woodard) and is running out of time. After forging a friendship with Curtis, Gerry convinces his brand-new pal to join him on a road trip to New Orleans to participate in a high-stakes poker match. Curtis agrees, and the rest is cinematic history. There are hundreds of films on Rotten Tomatoes with a 95% approval rating or higher that you can watch on Netflix, and “Mississippi Grind” only misses the lineup by four percentage points.
Unfortunately, Mississippi Grind didn’t fare well at the box office
Produced on a $7 million budget, “Mississippi Grind” only raked in about $130,500 in box office returns, making it a major flop for A24 and DirecTV Cinema — both handling US distribution — as well as the international distributor — Annapurna Pictures. Not even the star power of Ryan Reynolds could get enough people to go see “Mississippi.” Considering how good the reviews are, it’s a shame the film didn’t receive greater fanfare when it was released in September 2015. On Metacritic, “Mississippi Grind” scored a 77 out of 100, based on 27 critic reviews. Writing for The New York Times, critic A.O. Scott said, “Mississippi Grind itself may be a bit of a throwback to the lived-in, character-driven, landscape-besotted films of the 1970s, but it’s less a pastiche or a homage than the cinematic equivalent of a classic song, expertly covered.”
Such praise makes the film seem all the more alluring, and we read similar praise from other critics. Considering Netflix is also home to one of the worst films Ryan Reynolds ever starred in, “Mississippi Grind” is a solid reminder that initial ticket sales shouldn’t be an end-all, be-all metric for measuring a film’s success. Be sure to catch the movie before it disappears from Netflix. Oh, and if you’re looking for superhero content that matches the crass boldness of Reynolds’ Deadpool performance, we recommend Howard Overman’s “Misfits,” an R-rated series you’ll also be able to stream on Netflix.
