Oh, Hi!, 2025.
Written and Directed by Sophie Brooks.
Starring Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, John Reynolds, Polly Draper, David Cross, Desmin Borges, Jimmy Gary Jr., Tabitha Lawing, Ruben Ortiz, Diana Irvine and Sabina Friedman-Seitz.
SYNOPSIS:
Iris has met her perfect guy, Isaac, and is enjoying their first romantic getaway together — what could go wrong?
In writer/director Sophie Brooks’ Oh, Hi!, Molly Gordon’s Casablanca-obsessed romantic optimist Iris hasn’t had much success with dating, with the most common obstacle appearing to be a lack of commitment on the part of her love interest, typically stating that they don’t feel it’s the right time or that they’re not in the right headspace for a relationship. As such, when on a vacation to O’High Falls (surprisingly, that’s not the only reference to the title) with Logan Lerman’s Isaac (their first together), he confesses (rather conveniently after some fiery, BDSM-lite intercourse) that, despite to Iris and viewers certainly coming across as a dating couple, he does not want to enter a relationship and has been having sex with others.
From there, Iris has a somewhat justifiable manic meltdown, leaving Isaac shackled to the bed while running downstairs, compulsively doing Internet psychological research on how to open someone’s eyes that they are actually in love with you, a manipulative tactic if there ever was one. It’s an unhinged premise that could have worked as the dark romantic comedy Sophia Brooks is gunning for, except that it doesn’t take long for the movie to stretch that idea far beyond its limits while introducing new characters and dynamics, gradually becoming ridiculous to an unbelievable extent that derails the whole experience about 45 minutes before it is made evident that there isn’t a convincing, reasonable message to make here about messy and/or toxic connections.
Yes, there is something hilariously warped about watching Iris scramble through a checklist of activities to show a partner what an everlasting relationship would look like, ranging from making breakfast (Iris doesn’t even know if Isaac likes French toast or not) to assisting him urinating into a bowl while pointing out that this is what it could be like when they are old and frail. The performances are one of the only highlights here, with Molly Gordon tapping into a crazed yet empathetic persona, someone lashing out due to her past and the thought of losing another one, as the finicky nature of relationships requires them to blossom at the right time. Of course, it’s also always possible that Isaac is another fuckboy, afraid to commit, running from insecurities, or some combination of those three.
Aspects of the film also likely benefited from premiering at Sundance, given that the first act presents the material as a straightforward romantic comedy without revealing its true nature until after the sexual encounter. That’s not to say it isn’t obvious the situation will go sideways; there is a medias res opening teasing the appearance of Iris’ bestie Max (Geraldine Viswanathan, who is always welcome to see, but doesn’t necessarily add anything to this story already pushed beyond its limited scope) to help resolve whatever drama arised. It’s more than Sophie Brooks is banking on an element of unpredictability, and where these characters will end up. However, in our hearts, we can sense that it’s going to end on the goofiest, most cringeworthy, unconvincing note imaginable, and it does.
Even the attempts at comedy start to come across as too ludicrous for the severity of what is happening in this story, at one point involving a concoction of a witchcraft potion. It’s not funny, but the real issue is that, after a particular moment, Oh, Hi! shouldn’t be going for laughs. Yet it continues to dig itself a deeper hole, with a truly eye-roll-inducing ending.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder
