The Shitheads: A Stoner Comedy for Desperate Times

Sundance Film Review: The Shitheads
Director: Macon Blair
Gramercy Park Media, Peachtree Media Partners, Rough House Pictures
Premiere: 01.23.2026

When’s the last time you had a good hearty laugh? Let’s face it: The comedy genre is dying and humanity’s sense of humor is going down with it. Did the rivers of the honest hardy-har-har run dry after Don Rickles exhaled his last insult? Or does comedy only belong to the likes of Joe Rogan and the Austin, Texas comic scene now, baked in DMT and the taste of leather boots? I once joked that This Is The End was the last of the decent comedies, an ironic nod to the film’s title. However, as the years go by and new releases can’t even get a courtesy cough, I feel as if “The End” is nigh. And with the absolute neopolitical hellscape that many American Dreamers have found themselves in, we’re in dire need of an outlet to laugh our fat asses off. So after racing to my six o’clock showing, through a football field length of ICE protestors and cherries-and-berries barricades, I had the chance to laugh at the big screen. The movie in question was a charmingly named flick that could sum up the current presidential administration: The Shitheads.

After a youth leader screwup (O’Shea Jackson Jr., Straight Outta Compton) and a manchild burnout (Dave Franco, Now You See Me) are each fired from their jobs, the two cross paths when landing a transporting gig. The job is simple: Pick up a troubled teen from his multimillion dollar estate and drive him to a rehabilitation center in two days. Unfortunately, the tame ride to rehab turns hostile when the two realize their passenger is the psychotic teenage dirtbag Sheridan (Mason Thames, The Black Phone), who has attracted a maddening fanbase online after setting a homeless person on fire. It’s a race against the clock, as the hilarious and chaotic antics from the teen become almost life-threatening. 

Every human interaction in this flick is top-notch, especially between our two leads. Jackson’s bittersweet bozo performance makes him quite the sympathetic character, as his constant failures almost come off as an undetermined punishment from God. Franco, on the other hand, is your typical stoner archetype who insists that every fuck-up is anything but his fault (we all know the truth). Together, they make a ying-yang of misfortune, but both agree that if they want change, they must do something about it. Even Thames as the sociopath bad boy reminded me a lot of a snotty WhistlinDiesel crony, with followers that resemble those Tumblr girls who find the Columbine shooters attractive. Every encounter in the movie is a mess… and I love it!

When it comes to script writing and execution, don’t expect any high-brow bits or banter. This is a stoner comedy at heart, with all the vulgarity and bathroom humor to boot (just wait ‘til you see Franco shit his pants in front of a stripper). It’s the type of comedy that tickles that same teenage funny bone as films like Step Brothers and Pineapple Express. On the other side of the coin, The Shitheads also provides slices of social commentary, whether or not that was the director’s intentions. The hammered-in message of wealthy maniacs buying their “get out of jail free” cards without any repercussions is poignant. That, piggybacking off the crazed tribalism of Sheridan’s fanbase consisting of middle-aged partiers out of their prime and Peter Dinklage’s gang of criminals, makes it a polarizing watch.

The Shitheads is a chucklesome film that might not achieve cult classic status, but it’s what we need right now. It made me want to enjoy comedies again, treating them as an actual source of entertainment rather than another brick to a film snob’s ego. When the rest of the world is hyperventilating from uncertainty, it’s good to remind ourselves to take a breath once in a while — and let out a good ha-ha! —Alton Barnhart

Read more of SLUG’s coverage of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.