Aww, this made me miss college. Wishing everyone I met at the time a good day today.
What it's about
Closed off from his peers, lonely college freshman Alex takes a leap and attends a college party at a party fraternity house, where he forges a connection with Maggie.
The take
College seems to be teeming with possibility, in a more substantial way than adulthood or high school feels, since for many people, it’s the only time where one lives alone and makes decisions for their lives selfishly. Shithouse captures that moment with a candid sentimentality, all marked by a shared late night that changes the way the whole college life feels. Cooper Raiff captures this time of a freshman uncertainty with actual palpable emotions, acting, writing, and directing with a freshness that filmmakers aspire to but never seem to get on screen, and it’s this mumblecore-inspired feature debut that made him a filmmaker to look out for. Shithouse is pure college nostalgia.
What stands out
The thing about these talky, early adulthood romcoms is that they tend to primarily focus on the protagonist, sometimes at the expense of the love interest’s character. Maggie feels like a real person, with a real background, all made real through Dylan Gelula’s performance.