Susan Sarandon and Shameik Moore in the bowling comedy

AlleyCatz, a modest bowling alley in a fictional California town, is not attractive to passers-by or potential customers from abroad. Place managed by Mozell (Sister sisterJackie Harry) has a faded brick exterior, a monument to the sad architecture of suburban shopping malls. It doesn’t offer much when you walk inside either. Lanes need waxing, tape requires care and equipment in various stages of deterioration. Some people might take one look at AlleyCatz and run, but Walt (Shameik Moore), the silly protagonist in Yasser and Isaiah Lester’s raucous directorial debut, gutter, he has no choice. He needs a job.

The young man, who prefers to live life without a shirt, has been kicked out of more parties than he can count. In a particularly amusing early scene, Walt recounts his lousy job history to Moselle, whose face becomes increasingly annoyed with each revelation. But like Walt, Moselle is out of options. AlleyCatz is collapsing and the intrepid businessman needs help. Compelled by a glimmer of Walt’s charm and her own desperation, Moselle hires him to tend the bar and remove cockroaches from bowling shoes.

gutter, a thrilling feature that premiered at SXSW, is a tense comedy that follows Walt as he goes from tending bar AlleyCatz to breaking records as a dynamite ballplayer. The film is a passion project that exploits different comedic genres – satirical, physical and sketchy – to create an absurdist adventure. Even when the narrative falters, and demands more than the screenplay (written by Yasser) can provide in a brisk 89 minutes, gutterShe rarely misses a sense of humor. The Lester brothers deliver jokes with precision, taking aim at everything and everyone. Their defiant bluntness may clash with mainstream sensibilities, however gutter – Like an early novel by Paul Beatty – it seems destined to be a cult classic.

On his first day, Walt meets a group of characters that make one wonder if… gutter It probably would have worked better as a sitcom. Stationed at the bar is Skunk (D’Arcy Carden), a former champion bowler whose alcoholism has ruined her legacy. Brotha Candy (Rell Battle), the smiling “hotep” on the right has been drawn boondocks, sets up camp outside, where he broadcasts conspiratorial thoughts over a loudspeaker. In his brief appearance as the city health inspector, Adam Brody replaces his soft-spoken producer persona American fantasy For more dead ends coded by Seth Cohen.

Just as Walt is getting comfortable with his new job, which may help him and his mother Vicki (Kim Fields) keep the lights on, he discovers that AlleyCatz is in danger of closing permanently. That visit by Brody’s unnamed character was a dark sign. If AlleyCatz doesn’t clean up its act and meet the health code, the city will close the place. The transition from this disappointing news to Skunk’s terrible plan happens in the blink of an eye, and is one of the few moments in the film that feels over-the-top.

After Skunk witnesses Walt’s impressive bowling skills—no matter how he launches the ball down the lane, he throws a perfect strike—she convinces him to play competitively. She insists that the money he wins from each game can help Mozell with AlleyCatz repairs. It’s a sound plan, one that goes against the film’s logic, as Lester shies away from any funny antics that demand attention.

This is not a problem at first. Walt and Skunk hit the road, participating in competitions that resulted in each other gutterThe funniest jokes. Their success rate catches the attention of Angelo Powers (star Paul Reiser), a new ratings-obsessed broadcaster and hater. He launches a segment called BLM (Bowl Lives Matter), which simultaneously capitalizes on Walt’s growing fame and discredits the former bartender. Walt’s record-breaking victories also brought champion bowler Linda Corson (an equally powerful Susan Sarandon) out of retirement. Meanwhile, Walt’s friends and family (played by Langston Kerman and Jay Ellis) cheer him on.

gutter is the strongest and most updated follow-up to the first part of Walt’s success. Landing a job at AlleyCatz, winning his first games, and scoring a series of hilarious sponsorships fuels the film’s humor and our investment in these characters. But the narrative loses some of its power when it faces emotional stakes. Just as Walt is unstoppable, his winning streak ends mysteriously. here, gutter It requires some dramatic turns that the performers struggle to achieve. The film doesn’t navigate the fallout between Skunk and Walt and other subsequent revelations with the same confidence with which it sets up Walt’s world. This shortcoming does not negate the good work done by these promising directors, but it does mean it gutter Do not reach all the screws completely.