Preston Barta // Features
If there was one movie I couldn’t be silent about in 2020, it was Cooper Raiff’s college love story, Shithouse. Now it’s available on Blu-ray and DVD!
With his breathlessly intimate and funny directorial debut, Raiff takes a commonly told story and puts a fresh spin on it. We’ve seen our Animal Houses and Everybody Wants Somes, featuring characters larger than life or comfortable in their own skin. However, how about someone who is incurably homesick and often cuddles up with a stuffed wolf? It seems absurd on paper, but Raiff grounds the story with such authenticity that it’s indescribably moving. It’s like watching a young Richard Linklater adopt the modern sensibilities of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade. Raiff is a talent to watch, and S#!%house is his first great work.
In addition to putting pen to paper and calling the shots, Raiff is also one of our protagonists, Alex. Alex is a lonely college freshman from Texas who is embarking on a new journey in Los Angeles. He walks around campus with a grand sense of innocence and vulnerability as he tries to figure things out, like: Why do survey questions not offer more multiple choice? As Ethan Hawke would say in Boyhood: “Life doesn’t give you bumpers.” If you’re expecting things to come easy as circling “A,” “B,” “C” or “D,” it won’t be.
Experiences are on the horizon for Alex — cold showers, getting locked out of your dorm room, meeting people, going to parties, and helping those who cannot help themselves. Everyone has their baggage before they enter college, and Raiff paints that reality very well. Each character, no matter how big or small the part, causes you to say, “Ooh, I know that person!” or “That person is me!” It’s as if Raiff had been taking notes his entire life and wanted to home in on the truth of what it’s like to go through that universal transition. That moment when you’re on your own for the first time. When you’re confused about what to do when you’re not feeling well, and you call your mom to ask what you should do. (I’m a 31-year-old man, and I still have to call my parents about stuff.) It’s learning to grow. You want to live in your childhood and be an adult at the same time. The contemplative nature of this film is remarkable.
Moving onto the next significant, relatable chapter: Raiff impeccably captures that magical night when you meet someone special. It’s like you’re genuinely falling deeply in love in a matter of hours. From strangers to best friends who you don’t want to let go of. You share your life over the course of the evening, maybe a little mischief, and the occasional quest to bury a pet turtle.
Cooper Raiff as ‘Alex’ and Dylan Gelula as ‘Maggie’ in Cooper Raiff’s S#!%HOUSE. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release. 
Dylan Gelula as ‘Maggie’ in Cooper Raiff’s S#!%HOUSE. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release. 
Cooper Raiff as ‘Alex’ and Dylan Gelula as ‘Maggie’ in Cooper Raiff’s S#!%HOUSE. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release. 
Cooper Raiff as ‘Alex’ in Cooper Raiff’s S#!%HOUSE. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release.
The film also centers on Maggie (a very good Dylan Gelula), the young woman whom Alex meets at the titular house party. Maggie also happens to be Alex’s resident assistant, and the two spend the rest of the night getting boozy and deciding what to do with Maggie’s recently deceased turtle (who we meet alive at the film’s start) and unspooling family troubles. They walk and talk all night, never a dull moment.
Shithouse is super simple. We get a taste of what life is like on campus during the bookended sequences, and then the next 40 minutes are the events of one night — which is why a filmmaker like Linklater comes to mind. With movies like the Before trilogy and Dazed and Confused, Linklater focuses not on crafting hugely cinematic scenes where characters suddenly die in a car crash to collect a quick emotional response. Everything unfolds as it would in real life. Sometimes it’s messy. Sometimes a moment of intimacy can go south, an argument can force you to evaluate your actions, and you try new things that you wouldn’t otherwise.
There’s so much to unpack in Raiff’s film. It very much plays out like one of those nights where you’re having a great time hanging out with friends and loved ones, talking about worries, and learning a lot about yourself. At the end of this movie, just like you would during one of those nights, you ask: Whoa. Where did all the time go?
Film grade: A+
Our interview with writer/director/star Cooper Raiff:
Bonus Features available on Blu-ray disc:
- Deleted scenes – Five deleted scenes in total. (One of those omitted scenes is discussed in more detail in the above interview with Raiff.)
- Bloopers – A montage of goofs and gags that showcase how playful it was on set.
- “Madeline & Cooper” Short Film – See where the story started with Raiff’s original short film. You’ll recognize similar story beats, but will also notice how much the story has evolved in Shithouse.
- Trailer – The original IFC Films trailer.
