Certificate: TBC

Running Time: 92 mins

UK Distributor: TBC

UK Release Date: TBC

REVIEWED AT BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 2024

WHO’S IN THE GUTTER?

Shameik Moore, Susan Sarandon, D’Arcy Carden, Jay Ellis, Jackée Harry, Paul Reiser, Rell Battle, Adam Brody, Kim Fields, Adam Pally, Paul Scheer, Tony Baker, Nelson Franklin

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Yassir Lester (director, writer), Isaiah Lester (director), Liz Destro (producer), Keegan DeWitt (composer), Veronica Bouza (cinematographer), David Dean and Josh Porro (editors)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A directionless young man (Moore) discovers an unusual talent for bowling…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE GUTTER?

Most comedies nowadays tend to smarten themselves up to appear more refined towards critics and audiences, though it has meant a steep decline in the number of outwardly silly movies designed purely for endless giggles. A few have emerged over the years, including Emma Seligman’s Bottoms, but for the most part the days when we’d get movies like Anchorman or DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story are largely over.

That hasn’t stopped filmmaker siblings Isaiah and Yassir Lester from trying to bring that era back with The Gutter, a comedy that fully embraces the fact that it is meant to be very, very silly and not exactly the smartest of entertainment. Its overall effect, though, is mixed, for while there are some laughs to be had from its outlandish nature, the film is a bit sporadic to become an immediate comedy classic.

The film, from a script by Yassir, begins as an aimless young man named Walt (Shameik Moore) applies for a job at a struggling bowling alley, where despite his terrible CV and uncouth mannerisms irking the manager Mozell (Jackée Harry) he is hired. Shortly after striking a friendship with regular barfly Skunk (D’Arcy Carden), Walt learns that the bowling alley is to be shut down unless Mozell can come up with the money to meet the required standards, but Walt’s surprise efficiency for bowling prompts Skunk to take him into the tournament circuit and win the money needed to save the alley. However, as the two of them quickly rise in the ranks of professional bowling, they soon attract the attention of former champion Linda Curson (Susan Sarandon), who eventually becomes Walt’s biggest competitor as the tournament reaches its climax.

The basic structure is that of a very conventional sports comedy, previously used by everything from DodgeBall to Happy Gilmore to especially Kingpin (the latter of which feels like the biggest influence for The Gutter as a whole), but the Lesters don’t seem all that bothered by the fact that it’s a well-worn formula. Instead, they’re far keener on inserting as many outlandish and often strange gags as they can around it, almost to a similar level as films like Airplane! or Hot Fuzz, and their dedication to cramming in one joke after another is admirable, even though the film is never as funny as those examples.

That isn’t to say that it’s completely laugh-free, for there are some decent belly-laughs scattered throughout that do, even for a short while, bring back that fun feeling of watching an enjoyably silly comedy, the kind where logic and reason is more of an afterthought. Some unusual sight gags and even weirder line deliveries earn some of the more unexpected giggles, while the cast is exceptionally apt for performing and saying some absolutely ridiculous stuff, particularly lead Shameik Moore who brings a cool and confident charisma to a character one could easily see being played by Kevin Hart or even Jim Carrey a decade or two prior. Between Moore, the ever-delightful D’Arcy Carden, and a heavily game Susan Sarandon, the cast has the energy for this kind of goofy comedy down to a tee, and they certainly help a bunch to make the overall film a lot more watchable.

But ultimately, The Gutter just isn’t as consistently funny as it needs to be to fully become the kind of comedy it aspires to be. This is down to a lot of scenes going on for far too long, as though the directors all too liberally allowed the actors to improvise without restraint, and the editors weren’t entirely sure how to trim it all down to mere seconds rather than elongated minutes. They also throw in a number of timely references to things like PornHub, Joe Rogan and even the bat that started COVID-19, none of which will exactly help the film age as well as the much better comedies mentioned throughout this review.

There’s also never a real sense that the filmmakers are willing to be a bit more daring with aspects of its humour, with much of it coming off as rather safe, even with all the crude language and sex references (for instance, a running joke is that the one thing our hero wants out of his quest is to get a threesome). It definitely plays on racial slurs, such as the protagonist’s very unmentionable stage name, but it’s often for shock humour and doesn’t really amount to many genuine laughs.

To use some bowling analogies, The Gutter is far from a perfect game, but there are a few strikes amidst its many spares.

SO, TO SUM UP…

The Gutter is a throwback sports comedy that earns some chuckles from its strange gags, as well as some apt central performances, but the laughs aren’t consistent enough for it to be a perfect game.

Click here to find how you can see The Gutter at this year’s BFI London Film Festival!

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