Given our skittish, cancel culture-obsessed society, now is a great time for a crass, anything-goes comedy like Isaiah and Yassir Lester’s The Gutter to remind us that it’s okay to remove the stick from our ass and laugh. However, it’s not necessarily a great time for the actual comedy The Guttera film with the admirable goal of taking its place among great and gleefully stupid sports comedies like Dodgeball, Talladega Nights , and especially Kingpin. Starring a very appealing Shameik Moore as an unemployable loser who discovers he’s got championship-level game as a bowler, The Gutter is a non-stop firehose of jokes. More than a few of them are aimed at touchy subjects, yet there’s nothing as cathartic or satisfying as a knife-sharp gag that feels a bit dangerous given the times but is too damn funny to not enjoy.
Mile-a-minute laffers like The Gutter are ultimately judged on their batting average, and while the film cannot be faulted for trying, a lot of the jokes feel like they needed a punch-up or were ad-libbed on-set, which only adds to an excessively loose feeling that deflates the comedy. If the Lester brothers, making their film directing debuts, had shown a bit more discipline and killed more of their darlings, The Gutter could have become the cult comedy it clearly wants to be. That said, the film gets a grudging pass for its likability, sheer volume of jokesoverachieving cast that includes Oscar winner Susan Sarandon, and charming, low-budget indifference to political correctness and match cuts.
Spider-Verse Voice Actor Shameik Moore Proves Himself a Future Star
Moore, who has voiced Miles Morales in Sony’s animated Spider-Verse series, is clearly ready for the big time. Similar to how Cleavon Little carried Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles with his intelligence and humor, Moore proves himself a deft and willing comedic actorlanding each joke while still taking his character seriously enough. There is, of course, nothing much serious about Walt, a shirtless no-account who lands a job cleaning bowling shoes with roach spray at the crumbling AlleyCatz bowling alley after having been fired from every previous job.
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The AlleyCatz regulars are led by Skunk (D’Arcy Carden), a former pro bowler and current alcoholic who likes her beer warmed up in the microwave and once “smacked (Supreme Court Justice) Brett Kavanaugh on the ding-a-ling.” When the health inspector (a cameo by Adam Brody) announces that the bowling alley will be permanently shuttered in 60 days unless owner Mozell (Jackée Harry) makes pricey upgrades all seems lost. Then Walt discovers his heretofore untapped ability as the Shohei Ohtani of bowling and, under Skunk’s tutelage, goes on the pro bowling tour to raise the money that will save AlleyCatz.
It’ll be Funnier in a Theater Than in Your Living Room
The Gutter premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival where theater audiences are more inclined to be whipped up into a contagious frenzy by such freewheeling absurdity. Mileage may vary for non-stoned living room viewers, but the Lester brothers — Yassir wrote the script — definitely didn’t skimp on the jokes, delivering a boatload of visual and verbal gags. They find humor in the Black experience and bowling and even both at the same time, as when TV host Angelo Powers (a fun Paul Reiser) launches a show called “Bowl Lives Matter” to follow Walt’s progress on the tour as he amasses as many wins as sponsors (including PornHub and Spicy, Hot Milk).
While the one-liners come fast and furious, it’s actually the visual gags that land most consistently. Memories of the great Zucker brothers comedies are warmly welcomed after Walt insists on an oversize novelty check following every win, slings a hobo bindle over his shoulder after an argument with Skunk, and rides the municipal bus for free on its bike rack.
The riskier jokes are met with anticipation, if not always laughter (therapy being described as “Jewish voodoo” may be the film’s funniest line) with the N-word liberally deployed in a way that should make white audiences both chuckle and feel uncomfortable. Where the film often lags are the jokes in between, the ones that help move the story along or feel like they’re padding out scenes in a film that overall needed more snap in the edit.
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Susan Sarandon Is Game for Anything
The fact that no one here looks like they’ve bowled a day in their life adds another positive layer of silliness to the whole affair. That includes good sport Susan Sarandon as Linda Curson, the chain-smoking, oral-sex-loving former bowling champion coaxed out of retirement to challenge Walt, leading to the inevitable final match. The outcome of the match and the fate of AlleyCatz will surprise no one, but like most joke-a-thons, the story is not the point. It only has to be strong enough to hang the gags on yet flexible enough to accommodate unrelated quips.
Based on that criteria, one senses that The Gutter will be seen as a good starting place for the raw but promising Lester brothers. They may have tried too hard here, falling in love with every gag to the detriment of the final product, but their funny bones are definitely in the right place. Magnolia Pictures will release The Gutter in theaters and on digital November 1.
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