By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Cooper Raiff
Starring: Abby Quinn | Amy Landecker | Ashley Padilla | Cooper Raiff | Dylan Gelula | Joy Sunday | Logan Miller | Olivia Welch
Country: united_states
Year: 2020
Running time: 100
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11618536/reference
Michael says: “You may be wondering how I ended up watching a movie about college students called SHITHOUSE. It’s a good question. As I wrap up my viewing before it’s time to nominate, I’m intentionally moving away from serious dramas that are emotionally wrenching. I noticed that our past Awards recipient Logan Miller was in SHITHOUSE, and thought, what the hell? I’ll go out of my comfort zone and give it a shot. I’m supremely glad that I did. This is the kind of indie debut that could be easily overlooked by a poor title choice. I also learned after I watched it that it won the Narrative Grand Jury Award this year at SXSW.
“Alex is a freshman at college in LA, and when we first meet him, he’s several months in and is not adapting well. He misses his mother and sister terribly, he’s had trouble making any friends, he doesn’t really like his partying roommate, and he’s uncomfortable at the endless drinking, drugs, and hooking up that everyone else seems to be reveling in. At a frat party at the unfortunately named Shithouse, he does his best to enjoy himself, but ends up leaving early only to be woken by his roommate coming home later that night, totally trashed and shitting himself in his drunken stupor. Escaping to the student lounge he runs into Maggie, his RA, and the two strike up a conversation. When she suggest they go hang out in her room — Millenial code for hooking up — he gives it a try. While the sex doesn’t work out so well, the two spend the night walking around campus, meeting a few other night owls, and share some meaningful, but awkward conversations about their families and their experiences at school. The next day, Alex is aglow with the possibilities of a relationship with Maggie, and after an effusive bit of liking her posts and messaging her incessantly on Instagram, he’s troubled by her lack of response, then angered by her cool response when they bump into each other later that day. It seems that Maggie is not really interested in a relationship, and is a bit put off by his earnestness.
“Written, directed, and starring Cooper Raiff, I can only assume this is a very autobiographical story — one about a college experience that is never seen, but must surely be more commonplace than we think. The script is reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s BEFORE SUNRISE, if not quite as polished, but there’s an authenticity and earnestness that is painfully relatable. Maggie on the other hand, played beautifully by Dylan Gelula, is cool, a bit cynical, and comes off as slightly cruel in her behavior towards him. But Gelula’s easy portrayal, and genuineness make her more than a little sympathetic, and you end up rooting for them to come to terms with their differences and perhaps become friends. By film’s end, Alex has finally come to terms with life at college and the distance from his family back in Texas — after a few beautifully painful phone conversations with his mother, both in tears at his struggles. Logan Miller is a fun diversion as Alex’s roommate, but the slight attempt to flesh his character out to be anything other than a foil for Alex merely takes away from the core story in which we are invested. This is a debut feature that doesn’t quite have the polish as Desiree Akhavan’s Buried Treasure-nominated APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR, but shares the feel and intent, and also the shared writer/director/star scenario. I can definitely see this one as a Buried Treasure nominee as well. 4 1/2 cats