I’m ready to call it: brothers Yassir Lester and Isaiah Lester’s debut, The Gutter, is the funniest, most absurd comedy of the year.
After making a career of being fired, Walt (Shameik Moore) lands a job at Alleycatz, a bowling alley run by Mozell (a delightful Jackée Harry). There, he meets Skunk, (the ever-hilarious D’Arcy Carden) a former pro bowler who notices Walt’s natural talent for bowling – no matter how he sends the ball rolling. So when a building inspector shows up and announces Mozell needs to renovate the lanes within sixty days or have it shut down, Skunk begins coaching Walt and the two of them go on a mission to save Alleycatz by competing in pro bowling tournaments across the country. Their mission doubles as Skunk’s attempt at overshadowing bowling legend Linda Carson (Susan Sarandon, iconic as ever). But things go awry when Linda comes out of retirement and ends up facing Walt in a game.
In case it wasn’t clear, The Gutter doesn’t take itself too seriously. Moore and Carden bounce off each other with ease, and Sarandon typically magnificent. Paul Reiser is phenomenal as a bowling commentator for “SLoB,” the Super League of Bowlers. The list of cameos is insane: Jay Ellis plays Walt’s “unattractive” cousin; Paul Scheer is a sunburned Southerner; and Kim Fields, as Walt’s mother, Vicki (a sweet nod to the Lesters’ own mother) are a few of many familiar faces.
The Brothers Lester were kind enough to talk to Screen Speck about how TV writing influenced this movie, their audition process, and racism in America.
Screen Speck: You’re both TV comedy geniuses. I’ve been a casual fan of Yassir’s since the Making History days, really getting deeper into his work a few years later when the first lockdown happened worldwide; and of course I know Isaiah from black-ish. How did your TV background influence the way you approached writing and directing this movie?
Isaiah: I’d say that, for me, in terms of directing, television writing helped with the film mostly during work with the actors. When you write a script on a show you’re often on set with actors and crew. At both Making History and black-ish, I was really trusted by the showrunners to do more hands-on work with the cast: punch-up, line reads, emotional beats. I was really able to learn how to constructively give notes and adjustments to actors. It was honestly a big help.
Yassir: I truly believe that it gave me courage to throw caution to the wind. This was our first film, from a script I wrote and like the first time we’ve been given the license (mostly) to do our own thing. So for me the influence was how little I wanted this to feel like a TV show.
SS: You have an incredible cast and I’ve heard you pretty much didn’t have any auditions. What was that process like? Did you just reach out to who you had in mind from the beginning? Were there some “eureka” moments of, “Oh, this person is definitely meant to be this character?”
Isaiah: We reached out to a lot of people. Some we specifically had in mind; some I feel like we just got lucky. For instance, Paul Reiser had done a lot of work with our producer, Liz Destro, and ended up being perfect for the role. For me, I think meeting Susan and watching her gears turn when Yassir and I approached her about the Linda Curson role at lunch. From the moment she began speaking about how she saw the character, I couldn’t imagine anyone else in that role.
Yassir: For me, hearing Shameik’s voice in the Spider-Man films and knowing he had the innocence to pull off Walt while also knowing his on-screen talent is incomparable. We reached out pretty early to him. Same with D’Arcy. I don’t think me and Zay were ever too steadfast in who should play what role, but it all feels made up until you get there on the first day of shooting. So to connect with this incredible cast and each time one of them would give us a “Yes” was all we needed as a eureka moment.
SS: I also heard that during the promo that you didn’t audition Susan Sarandon so much as she auditioned you two – can you tell me a little more about that?
Isaiah: Yes, we had lunch with her. It wasn’t so much of an audition as it was feeling out. Susan is always Susan. It’s one thing I will always admire and frankly just love about her. The Susan we got at lunch was the one we got on set. We got an opportunity to talk about the role and mostly just get a vibe of how we would all be putting our brains together. But, truthfully, Yassir and I were pretty intimidated going in. Susan is a superstar. We wanted to make a good impression. It all worked out.
Yassir: She is truly a genius. And like Isaiah already said, she knew from Jump Street what this character was, but more importantly, how she made the character of Linda that no one else could.
SS: Not that this would be necessary considering how solid the script is, but with such a cast, I have to ask: How much improv did you allow, and how much — if any — made it into the movie?
Isaiah: There was room for some. One of my favorite moments of the film is something Linda Curson does after sitting down at the finals. She kinda gets up out of her seat and bucks at Walt like she’s going to swing at him. That was all Susan. Every time I watch that part it brings me to tears.
Yassir: There’s tons of improv. Our rule is, funniest joke wins, no matter what. Having an ego when filming anything is a bit of a sickness, because the whole point of creativity is fluidity. The moment you’re rigid for the most part, all of the energy in what you’re making is gone.
SS: My personal favorite throwaway line probably is, “Just like racism in America, this is over.” The Gutter does such a splendid job addressing racism not only in sports, but in America. This isn’t the first time your work highlights what it’s like to be Black in a country that is fundamentally racist, and you do it with humor and poignancy. When you wrote The Gutter, there was no major Black bowler; while that is changing, bowling teams remain mostly White. How important was it to you to shed a light on a Black man’s accomplishments in a predominantly white sport?
Isaiah: I think it’s important in the sense of the history. America has long had a history of erasing or belittling the history of Black people’s accomplishments. We didn’t do anything except say “Hey, here’s a Black bowler! Wouldn’t it be crazy if he became a champion?” And the idea seems so crazy that we got to make a movie about it. The fact is, it’s not that crazy if you don’t assume the ownership of something as silly as bowling to a race. So as much as it is a unique lens and perspective, it says more about the world at large to me that a Black person being a natural at bowling is an outrageous concept.
Yassir: Speaking of “Best Joke” wins, that one was Isaiah’s.
SS: I’m obsessed with this movie, but two somewhat inconsequential scenes in particular caught my attention. The first one is when Yassir’s wife, Chelsea Devantez, who plays a lesbian character, faces not-so-subtle lesbophobia from Walt. It’s a short scene, but it makes a precise statement without taking itself too seriously, which seems to be The Gutter‘s overall vibe: absolutely absurd, but with a sincerity and sensitivity that distinguish it from other movies in this genre. The second is at the end, where you feature different teams, like the nonbinary bowlers and the Palestinian bowlers. This isn’t a question as much as it’s me wanting to note just how important mentioning these communities is considering the current climate. And the latter feels like a sweet nod to you, Yassir, being of Palestinian descent. You craft both scenes with such care but never detract from the hilarity, which makes them all the more enjoyable. So thank you for that.
I know you’ve been asked what the most challenging part of working with your brother is, but I’d like to know what was, for you, the most rewarding part of working together. Do you plan to do so again?
Isaiah: The most rewarding part for me is living and working in the journey to get to where we always wanted to be. Both of us took different paths, worked together when we could, and ended up at the same spot. And just the idea of making something with your best friend. You always hear stories about brothers in their driveway playing basketball pretending to be Kobe and Shaq, or in their backyards pretending to be Steve Young and Jerry Rice. The Gutter was our version of that. And we got to do it for real. We always have something in the works together. Hope we get to do it again soon.
Yassir: As long as I breathe, I will always wanna work with my brother. I respect his mind and his art and his vision. And it only elevates my work, so why not always be down to clown together?
SS: Finally, can we hope for an international release someday?
Isaiah: I hope so! I want to come to France!
Yassir: It’s playing in New Zealand! Move there!
The Gutter will be available on Hulu on February 27th.
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