News

One of the first things that sticks out to you about Cooper Raiff’s movie Shithouse is the title. Simple put, the name of this film is terrible. It suggests a different sort of flick, a much worse one, too, as Raiff has crafted something emotional, funny, and deeply heartfelt. The title suggests something much rougher. Perhaps it’s intentional, but I’m actually shocked no one forced him to change the name. Kudos to IFC for supporting his vision, though it may well make this a much harder sell than it needs to be. Coming out tomorrow, it really deserves to be seen. The film is a dramedy, centered on a struggling college freshman. As presented by Raiff himself, this is his description of the picture: “Among thousands of kids trying their best to make college work, Alex feels alone and depressed. Home is 1500 miles away and he’s...

Making a movie about the college experience feels both universal and redundant. Haven’t we all seen this film before? Haven’t we watched this world played out in every which way? Shithouse, written and directed by the 22-year-old Cooper Raiff, tells a familiar story with a specificity that cannot be ignored.

Raiff stars as Alex, a college freshman struggling to adjust. He’s got a drunk asshole roommate (Logan Miller) and a bad case of homesickness. One night after a party at a place called “Shithouse” (the type of dank university house most college-goers have stumbled into), Alex makes fast friends with Maggie (Dylan Gelula), his R.A. What follows is a sometimes awkward, sometimes cute, mostly honest night of getting to know one another.

Speaking frankly, a lot of this dialogue hits pretty deep. Authenticity is a tough racket in this type of picture. A young filmmaker clearly using every available resource,...