‘The Gutter’ Review: Yassir and Isaiah Lester’s Irreverent Bowling Comedy Leaves ’Em Rolling in the Aisles
14.03.2024 - 00:13
/ variety.com
Stephen Saito Laughter strikes from all sides in “The Gutter,” the kind of brash and boisterous broad comedy that has largely been missing from multiplexes in recent years. Directors Yassir and Isaiah Lester seem to share a special ability with their main character Walt (Shameik Moore), who has a habit of hitting the central pin in spite of having a different delivery every time he steps up to the line.
The same goes for the filmmaking siblings in this hysterical tale of a bowling alley employee who finds he’s better on the lanes than behind the bar. Although Walt changes things up from a fast-pitch softball-like windup to simply throwing the bowling ball overhand, you just don’t know where a sight gag or a sharp one-liner will hit you when every part of the frame seems like a ripe opportunity for humor.
Nothing seems off limits when Walt takes an offensive stage name featuring the N-word (which becomes a significant part of the plot). The one time the brothers quite explicitly censor themselves for the purposes of him giving a live TV interview, the laughs still come from what you can imagine is being said.
You worry Walt may be dismissed as a joke before his journey can even begin when “The Gutter” starts with Mozell (Jackée Harry), the world-weary proprietor of Alleycatz, looking over his résumé for a job at the rec center, which has clearly seen better days. When she has more questions about why he’s had so many jobs, and also about the cupcake emojis used for R’s on his application, it doesn’t look good.
However, she’s as helpless as the audience becomes when there’s simply no resisting Walt’s goofy grin and irrational confidence. He quickly befriends the barflies he serves from the morning on, a former pro bowler
.
The website popstar.one is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can
send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.