Emily Cohn’s breezy debut movie is a quirky and entertaining take on living life as a teenager in the social media age. Isabelle Barbier plays Izzy, a socially awkward freshman at a small private college in Ohio ready to lose her virginity before the summer break. Meanwhile, her best friends, Anuka (Deeksha Ketkar) and Fiona (Sadie Scott), seem to cruise confidently to what Fiona likes to call “boneville.”

The comedy touches base on insecurities and desires prevalent in college and brings them all to light through an eccentric staple of emoji emotions projected onscreen. (The film may also be a cause of nostalgia for some.) Essentially, all that Izzy and her friends want is to have some fun when it comes to a special invite-only “crush party.” This is how it works: if someone submits a name, that person receives a specific invitation via Instagram and can also anonymously send an invite to anyone. Izzy is reluctant to attend, believing it may be better to study for her astronomy final instead. But the adventurous Fiona finally convinces her to go by getting Izzy to invite her handsome crush, Nolan (Abdul Seidu).

Fiona is a bold, carefree spirit who breaks out into a random British accent, while Anuka seems calm, cool, and collected. Izzy’s insecurities, though, push her over the edge; for example, by going too far by binge drinking at the party. At this point, the film takes an unexpected dip in its pace when things did not go as planned for Izzy. However, the film picks up speed when her secret admirer finds a way to finally approach her.

CRSHD is definitely a coming-of-age comedy told through its own set of emojis. It almost comes across as a play as the characters pause in place, face the camera, and speak out loud their online postings, misspellings and all. How they navigate through the online likes or dislikes of their crush’s photos is like understanding a unique set of dating principles, like when Anuka instructs Izzy to click “like” only for a certain photo to show interest  and when not to. Nevertheless, despite the convenient small screen she has in her hands to communicate, courage is still necessary for Izzy to take the first step and make contact face to face.