I laughed a lot at the goofy sports comedy “The Gutter,” a hilarious, profane, atypical underdog film from Isaiah and Yassir Lester. This is a movie I can best describe as “Dodgeball” meets “Pootie Tang,” but with bowling. This one has massive cult classic potential, if it can find its audience.
When we meet frequently fired Walt (Shameik Moore), he is interviewing for a job at AlleyCatz, which was recently voted “Worst Bowling Alley in America.” The owner (Jackée Harry) decides to give him a chance, and it’s the first place where Walt feels like he’s found a sense of belonging. When money issues threaten to shut the place down, Walt and local barfly (and former professional bowler) Skunk (D’Arcy Carden), make it their mission to compete and earn prize money in as many regional competitions as they can find.
There are a lot of fun surprises both plot-wise and with the cast, including an amusing supporting performance from Paul Reiser as a bowling show host and a downright riotous turn from Susan Sarandon as bowling legend Linda “The Crusher” Curson, a mean-spirited competitor who comes out of retirement to put the smack down on Walt’s rising star.
Moore has charisma to spare, and he makes a comical odd couple with Carden. Not all of the one-liners land, but they work hard to sell the very, very funny sight gags (pay attention, because there are a lot of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them background jokes). The Lesters include a lot of racially-tinged jabs as well, and this is a film with a great sense of humor and timing.
Disappointingly, the movie ends with a cheap transgender and cultural joke that feels mean spirited and out of place, which is a shame. While that bit does dampen the mood quite a bit, it doesn’t ruin what is overall a very funny movie.
“The Gutter” is not your traditional underdog story, and it succeeds where most comedy films tend to fail: by making you laugh. A lot.
By: Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots 