Shithouse
IFC Films | Release Date: October 16, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeFore
Raiff is so credible in the part one can't help but suspect there's a lot of him in Alex; the film's willingness to look so frankly at his vulnerability, in an unmanipulative way, feels especially refreshing now. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerOct 15, 2020
One of the most extraordinary debuts of the year. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid Ehrlich
The whole movie is suspended in a pleasant and intimate space between order and chaos, love and abandonment, leaving the nest and building a new one. Every time Shithouse borrows from something else, it only seems to become more itself. Read full review
80
EmpireJohn NugentSep 30, 2021
As a sensitive portrait of what college is like for the awkward lonely types — and an ode to just staying up late and shooting the sh*t — Freshman Year is a funny, tender treat. Read full review
80
Vanity FairRichard LawsonOct 15, 2020
Shithouse is not some universal exploration of America’s youth, to be sure. But in its own narrow scale, it’s pretty effective. This is a discursive movie keenly sourced from individual experience. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin CrustOct 15, 2020
Though the film’s casual structure lulls you into thinking not much is going on, the gently shifting power dynamics between the characters, and a reversal of the traditional gender roles sets up an unexpectedly moving resolution. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJake CoyleOct 19, 2020
It’s one of the freshest college movies in years, a nano-budget breakthrough of rare sensitivity that announces more than one new talent. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comTomris LafflyOct 16, 2020
When writer/director Raiff steps out of the Linklater zone and tries to give Sam his own story — he is an aspiring stand-up comedian, except not particularly funny — you can feel Shithouse lose its firm footing a little bit. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenOct 14, 2020
At its best, the movie captures the thrill of those moments, whether romantic or friendly, when you realize something special is happening. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 14, 2020
The movie won the grand prize at this year’s Slamdance, an even more indie Sundance-adjacent festival, and it marks the arrival of an earnest talent in writer-director-star Cooper Raiff. It’s also the rare youth movie to dispense with cynicism and wear its heart on its sleeve. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 12, 2020
Few movies grab the lonely, lost and timeless suck of freshman year at college as well as Shithouse, the debut feature of writer, director and co-star Cooper Raiff. Read full review
75
The Film StageDan Mecca
Shithouse, written and directed by the 22-year-old Cooper Raiff, tells a familiar story with a specificity that cannot be ignored. Read full review
70
Little White LiesEmily MaskellOct 5, 2021
This wonderfully promising debut from Raiff transposes personal experience brilliantly and showcases the filmmaker’s talent both in front of and behind the camera. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeOct 16, 2020
This is a modest film, well-acted but rather clumsily assembled, that almost certainly would have benefited from an in-person SXSW, where it’s possible to bask in the shared laughter of an enthusiastic first screening. Read full review
70
Screen DailyFionnuala Halligan
This story of a homesick college freshman, played affectingly by Raiff himself, doesn’t break any new ground - it doesn’t even try - but his film is still an appealing charmer. Read full review
67
The PlaylistMatthew MonagleOct 15, 2020
It’s hard not to fall a little in love with Alex and Maggie as they let down their guard and open up about their college experiences. It’s also hard not to wonder if these characters – especially Maggie – are genuinely deserving of the ending the film has to offer. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawSep 30, 2021
Life can be desperately embarrassing in your first year at university when you are trying out new identities and personalities. This film replicates that agonising discomfort. Read full review
50
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergOct 15, 2020
Raiff deserves credit for an unexpectedly elliptical coda, but much of the chatter between the leads has the emo-tedium of dorm room blather. Read full review
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