SHITHOUSE was a very, VERY pleasant surprise. You should see it. There, that's all I should say. But if you need more reasons, I'll see what I can do.
First of all, let me just say that it's amusing that the film is named SHITHOUSE, but that name probably isn't doing it any favors. But, it is what it is.
The film stars director & writer Cooper Raiff, who at age 24 has taken a very low budget and produced a surprising film that evokes movies like BEFORE SUNSET more than ANIMAL HOUSE. Yes, it's about a college freshman (Alex, played by Raiff), far from home, trying to find his place at college via a party at the legendary title location. But it is very much NOT a movie about a party. Raiff is nearly crippled with loneliness and he knows it (he carries on a dialogue with his stuffed dog toy that shows us he knows just how deep his depression is). His devoted mom and sister are back in Texas, and they would gladly welcome him back from California with open arms and understanding hearts. But he senses that would be to embrace failure and to settle for less than life has in store for him. He struggles to make friends and he struggles to meet girls. But, amazingly, his conversation with himself forces him to ask his roommate (who barely speaks to him) to take him to this famous party so that he can, hopefully, break out of his shell a little. They go to the party (and you can tell this is a low budget film right here, because the party is attended by 40 people rather than the 400 a big-budget film would use). It actually feels like a party real people might go to. Alex has a modestly good time, but isn't terribly successful socially. But when he and the roommate end up back at the dorms, and his roommate has fallen unconscious on the floor after soiling himself, Alex escapes to the common room of the dorms to escape the stench. There, he falls into conversation with his RA, Maggie (Dylan Gelula) and the evening turns into a heartfelt encounter for the two of them. They go on a long, ambling walk through the city, and we feel a very palpable connection grow between the two. It is a transformative night.
Transformative for Alex, but it's different for Maggie. I don't want to say anymore, because this film is so full of little surprises. There's laughter that's well-earned and driven by character. There's some absurdity (revolving around a pet turtle). There's some deeply felt sharing of feelings. And there are some astonishing moments, such as when Alex weeps uncontrollably as he shares his loneliness, finally, with his mom. When has a movie "about" partying at college ever shown us something like that?
We root very deeply for Alex. He's a nice guy who sometimes does thoughtless things. He's a smart guy who often does stupid things. He's shy but has a capacity to connect.
I was very impressed with this film, and cared pretty deeply our the main character and the central relationship. There are some issues. Raiff is not the world's greatest actor...sometimes he doesn't fully deliver on the promise of his own script. Gelula is very good in her role, but as rich as her character is, it's not always convincing. (This could be just the difficulty of a 24 year old, inexperience writer trying to craft a full-realized young woman.) Occasionally, the cinematography is a bit muddier than it should be, but given the clearly very low budget, this is forgivable. Sometimes the conversations between characters skew from being realistic to just uninteresting.
But I still thoroughly enjoyed myself and I enjoyed rooting for this messed up but very relatable guy. If you can get past the unpleasant title, you should enjoy this film a great deal.
