Joey Magidson
When you sit down to a Macon Blair film, you know you’re in for some absurdist fun. There’s a weirdness to his movies that’s singular to Blair’s work. After making an impression at the Sundance Film Festival years ago with I Don’t Feel At Home in This World Anymore and last year with his take on The Toxic Avenger, Blair is back with The Shitheads. Playing at Sundance, it’s the sort of flick that almost defies description, but is compulsively watchable.
The Shitheads gets progressively weirder the longer it goes on, which is saying something, considering the opening scene is already on the odd side.
Mark (Dave Franco) and Davis (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) are, for lack of a better word, losers. We meet Davis being let go from a job at a church for accidentally taking children to an inappropriate film. Mark, on the other hand, is being fired from the telemarketing job he’s already slacking off at. Needing work, his drug dealer turns Mark on to work with Davis, whose other job is transporting rehab patients for Ms. Dorindo (Grace Junot). The duo are like oil and water, which makes their first job all the more difficult. The gig? Transporting rich teen Sheridan (Mason Thames), who seems affable, though they’re warned to watch out for him, which they quickly wish they did.
As they come to the realization that Sheridan is a soulless monster, famous as a social media figure and known for his cruelty, they’re already victims of a sick game of his. His scheme involves a stripper (Kiernan Shipka), some of Mark’s drugs, and his legion of loyal followers. Before long, some violent men arrive, which takes things in a very different direction. Through it all, Mark and Davis bicker, constantly angry at each other, while also slowly bonding.
The trio of Dave Franco, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and Mason Thames really nail the tricky tone of the film. They have to be losers or vile humans, but also people you want to spend about 100 minutes with. Credit for Franco for making Mark somewhat of a scumbag, but someone who has some version of a good heart. Jackson Jr. is far kinder, but also just as much of a lost soul, only in a different way. He plays it far straighter, so while Franco is having more fun, Jackson Jr. has a deeper role to play. Then, there’s Thames, who manages to slowly reveal the demon inside of his spoiled rich kid. At the same time, when he needs to have his confidence shattered, he sells it well. Kiernan Shipka isn’t in the film as much as you’d like, but she makes an impression during her section. In addition to the aforementioned Grace Junot, the supporting cast here includes Najah Bradley, Nicholas Braun, Peter Dinklage, Melanie Loren, Killer Mike, Lynn Wanlass, and more.
Filmmaker Macon Blair is supremely confident in his bizarre visions. Co-writing with Alex Orr, Blair always has something new up his sleeve. His direction is limited by some budgetary restrictions, but there’s a sense that literally anything can happen from scene to scene. Moreover, Blair and Orr deserve credit for making Mark and Davis oddly sympathetic, even as they annoy the hell out of you. Mason Thames plays a full on monster, but in a manner that Blair wants you to almost feel seduced by. In his hands, you’re more than susceptible to whatever The Shitheads throws at you.
The Shitheads may not be for everyone, but the longer it went on, the more I enjoyed spending time with these odd ducks. Wrapping up my Sundance coverage for 2026, it’s among the most absurd works at the festival, but lo and behold, it’s probably one of the titles that I ultimately enjoyed the most. More Macon Blair, please and thank you!
SCORE: ★★★
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