SXSW 2020 FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW! I hate to admit this, but Cooper Raiff’s Shithouse is a painful reminder of my introverted first year in college. At least, his character Alex had a good excuse. I was just this nerd.

Well into his first year, Alex’s college experience is not going well. It starts with a painfully awkward conversation with his roommate (Logan Miller) about a party later that night at the Shithouse. A conversation that Alex was forcefully pushed into having by his stuffed animal dog. This is funny, trust me.

“…to give her dead turtle a proper burial. The two bond over the night’s escapades leading to sex.”

Mustering the courage, Alex makes his way to the party and finds himself content with being a wallflower. Opportunity strikes when Alex’s R.A. Maggie (Dylan Gelula) and the two begin talking, and a connection is made. As Maggie is pulled away by her friends, Alex heads back to his dorm room and is greeted with his drunk roommate—so drunk that he s**t himself.

Needing breathable air for the night, Alex is invited to Maggie’s room to talk and have sex. When the sex part doesn’t quite work out, the rest of the night is Alex encouraging Maggie to give her dead turtle a proper burial. The two bond over the night’s escapades leading to sex.

The next morning Maggie gives Alex the cold shoulder, and the remainder of the film is Alex wondering what the hell happened between the two. Trying to get a handle on the situation, he is accused of stalking her on social media and smothering her when he just wants to talk and figure it out.