Channeling an old-fashioned ridiculous and borderline-offensive comedy, a cast of seasoned comedians led by directors and brothers Yassir and Isaiah Lester premiered their new movie “The Gutter” at South by Southwest on Tuesday. The hour-and-a-half-long film served as a perfect laid-back comedy watch, which delivered nothing more and nothing less than what the team promised.
The film starred experienced comedians D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place”), Paul Reiser (“Mad About You”) and Susan Sarandon (“The Rocky Horror Picture Show”) in major roles. However, Shameik Moore (“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”) presented his comedic chops for the first time by taking on the lead role.
The movie follows Walt, who takes on a job at a run-down bowling alley. When the bowling alley’s owner (Jackée Harry) receives a threat that her business will be shut down if it doesn’t make renovations to meet health and safety standards, Walt feels moved to help her save the business. His friend Skunk (D’Arcy Carden) motivates him to take on competing as a professional bowler because of his natural talent for bowling. However, Walt’s humble beginnings turn into striving to beat the records of the best in professional bowling, “The Crusher” (Susan Sarandon), who comes out of retirement to sleazily save her title.
The competitive bowling world the film created stood out as one of the most interesting aspects of the movie. Emphasized for comedic entertainment, the competitive bowling community mimicked the depiction of many other sports films. It involved cheating scandals, bizarre stereotypes and a dedicated fanbase in an, at times, hilarious way. Because of this, the movie likens to other ridiculous sports comedies such as “Dodgeball,” “Talladega Nights” or “The Waterboy.”
Walt’s confidence and success grow through his absurd clothing choices throughout the movie. He shows up to his first bowling tournament ‘manifesting’ future sponsorships by going shirtless with brand stickers all over his torso. “Free Wifi,” “Pornhub” and “Attorney Law” stickers make it hard to take the character seriously, especially as he shows off his signature wind-up move to bowl strike after strike. By the final tournament, Walt appears adorned in a striking red puffer jacket and gold chains but remains as immature as ever.
In “The Gutter,” the Lester brothers displayed ridiculous raunchy and stereotype-based humor to carry the film without being graphic. The incredible cast allowed for this to keep the movie entertaining and light-hearted. Though not a serious film, “The Gutter” stayed true to the ‘dumb’ comedy movie standard and showcased a movie fit to watch mindlessly for a good time — but maybe not to rewatch consistently.
3 1/2 giant checks out of 5
