Director: Sophie Brooks
Writer: Sophie Brooks, Molly Gordon
Stars: Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan
Synopsis: Iris and Isaac’s first romantic weekend getaway goes awry in a most unexpected way.
Of all the tasks a person faces in life, dating may be one of the most challenging; since the rise of online dating, it has become even harder. You might think that having access to more people would make finding a partner easier, but it often just leads to more confusion and fatigue. Someone you feel a strong connection with might be just in it for fun, already looking at the next potential match, even if they take you on a romantic getaway to a remote cabin on the lake. That’s the story of Oh, Hi! by writer/director Sophie Brooks.
Oh, Hi! begins with Isaac (Logan Lerman) and Iris (Molly Gordon) driving to a romantic getaway at High Falls. The two are seen in the car singing, laughing, kissing, and genuinely enjoying each other’s company. The romantic banter between them is maybe a bit over the top at times, but still feels realistic, especially since the “relationship” is still in the early honeymoon phase. They are inseparable, and the chemistry between Lerman and Gordon makes it seem like they’ve been together much longer than they actually have. However, it’s shown that despite their great appearance together, they don’t really know each other all that well yet—they’re still trying to understand each other on a deeper level. After an intimate moment where Isaac is chained to the bed, this lack of understanding fully comes to light as he tells Iris he isn’t looking for a relationship and that she’s not the only girl he’s seeing romantically. Understandably upset, Iris leaves him chained to the bed overnight and the following morning plans to win him over against his will.
The scenes where Iris tries to win Isaac’s affection are among the funniest and most thematically powerful parts of the film. Sophie Brooks crafts these characters with humor and authenticity, making them believable. Iris’s frustration is palpable, and Molly Gordon delivers a hilarious performance as a manic, earnest girl desperately trying to connect with someone who doesn’t care either way. Though absurd, her behavior feels genuine—a plea for connection. Molly Gordon dominates these scenes, making a strong effort to carry the film. The first act benefits greatly from her performance and the film’s dark humor, which is both stressful and cringeworthy yet also funny.
However, all the momentum gained quickly fades once the twelve hours Isaac agreed to pass, and Iris’s attempt at winning him over turns to keeping him trapped to avoid dealing with the repercussions. When Isaac insists his feelings haven’t changed and plans to contact the police, Iris rebinds him and calls her friend Max (Geraldine Viswanathan) for help. The arrival of Max and her boyfriend Kenny (John Reynolds) halts the movie’s momentum entirely. This shift isn’t due to the characters but results from the story losing its plot-driven focus. Numerous conversations between Iris, Max, and Kenny go nowhere, as Isaac’s character becomes irrelevant. The film shifts from exploring complex themes of dating to attempting comedy that never quite lands in any meaningful way, causing the plot to become sidetracked and lose its momentum. It almost seems as though Brooks’s initial idea for the film lost its way, and she struggles to reconnect with the core themes. The dialogue between characters was already absurd in a funny and endearing way, but eventually transitions into something far past believability. The film takes some unusual turns, exploring witches and potions that feel monotonous and meaningless, and as a viewer, I felt tied to my chair with no escape.
In just this year alone, several films, such as Companion and The Materialist, have explored the complexities of relationships in various ways. For a while, Oh, Hi! was doing a good job of bringing something different and relevant to the table. Still, the longer the film dragged on, the less I cared about the characters and the situation they were in, because it began to feel like they didn’t care all that much either. It began to feel less like Iris wanted Isaac to understand how trapped she had felt in the vulnerable position he had put her in, and more like she was in over her head with no way out. The humor became stale, and at times, it was rehashed with the same jokes told by different people. Once the film lost its sense of comedy, it truly lost its way as well.
The end of the film forces the audience to suspend disbelief to an exponentially large extent. These characters, who were at war with one another for different reasons, wake up and understand the other’s point of view without any apparent reason for why they would have done so. After a tiresome second act, the film rushes to its conclusion in a less-than-satisfying way. One of the major problems is that it didn’t feel like the film took many risks. A film that raised questions about the difficulties of modern dating felt too nice, and the bow tie ending accentuated that idea, as it didn’t feel as though there was much of a point to it.
There is a good movie in Oh, Hi!, it just wasn’t the version that was released. The genuinely funny performance from Molly Gordon and equally as charming Logan Lerman is essentially wasted on a film that knew what it wanted to say but couldn’t quite figure out how to convey it. The script’s beats are surface-level at best, and while I initially understood the characters’ motivations, they were quickly discarded in favor of absurdist comedy that wasn’t absurd or comedic. At one point, Isaac proclaims to Iris, “The problem is that I was too nice?” And I think the same could be said about Oh, Hi! as well.
