THE STORY – Iris and Isaac’s first romantic weekend getaway goes awry.
THE CAST – Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan & John Reynolds
THE TEAM – Sophie Brooks (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 94 minutes
Is there anything more awkward than trying to define a relationship and realizing you and your partner aren’t on the same wavelength? It’s one of the most mortifying experiences you can have. Still, it can somehow be even more awful if you follow the deranged route Iris (Molly Gordon) takes in writer-director Sophie Brooks’ comedy, “Oh, Hi!” In this humorous, Gen Z take on “Misery” (which remains the far superior film), Brooks keeps the antics high as a sorta-couple navigates a tense weekend away, but eventually becomes a tedious farce when it veers into ultra-silly territory just for minimal laughs.
Young thirtysomethings Iris and Isaac (Logan Lerman) are enjoying a lavish weekend away at a beautiful Airbnb lake house. It’s been a few months since they started dating, and things seem to be going quite well: They’re singing “Islands in the Stream” in the car together; they’ve got the hots for each other; he’s making a fancy candlelit dinner for her. They’re even asking each other questions about their lives and really trying to get to know each other, like their favorite movies (“Casablanca” for Iris) and if they’ve ever had their heart broken. Who wouldn’t be swooned by all of this?
When they find BDSM gear in the Airbnb, they decide to have a little fun. As Iris has Isaac handcuffed to the bed, it seems like a good time to ask him about their relationship moving forward. Unfortunately, it’s the worst answer Iris could hope for – Isaac doesn’t want a committed relationship right now, and he’s also seeing other women. Yikes. Unfortunately for him, Iris isn’t the best at handling breakups; she previously revealed that she had a strong urge to stab an ex when he broke off their relationship. So, she decides to keep Isaac chained to the bed for 12 hours in an attempt to make him change his mind. It’s the most sane and perfect plan.
When the freakouts begin, so does the true humor of the film. It’s so amusing to see Lerman attempt to wiggle his way out of his handcuffs and panic as much as he does, and it’s also equally fun to watch Gordon try to play the cool, calm, collected girl who is also on the brink of a mental breakdown (once again, very “Misery” coded). While Gordon and Lerman are lovely to see together on screen, we’re not given enough context about Iris and Isaac’s relationship, which makes it harder to understand why Iris would want to go through all this trouble to make Isaac stay. Yes, he’s very attractive and showers her with romantic gestures, but if he’s been seeing other people and has no plans to take things to the next step, why bother? And if he’s so reluctant to be in a relationship, why would he orchestrate such an idyllic weekend away?
Rather than explore the perils of modern love and commitment issues that seemingly stem from Isaac’s childhood, Brooks decides to stay on the silly route. However, it gets tedious to watch when Iris’s best friend Max (Geraldine Viswanathan) and her boyfriend Kenny (John Reynolds) arrive, and she suggests they cast a spell on Isaac to make him forget about the whole ordeal. More shenanigans ensue, but it’s not all that captivating. Reynolds’ pitch-perfect comedic delivery is most amusing. Otherwise, it’s as though Brooks didn’t know where else to take this story and decided to pick the most absurd option. And once again, we’re left wondering why any of this is worth it to Iris.
“Oh, Hi” begins promisingly with its situationship-gone-wrong premise but soon loses steam as it heads into over-the-top, unrealistic territory. If it stayed realistic and actually examined the complicated reality of Isaac’s emotionally unavailable past, then this film would have had far more interesting things to say rather than throwing in absurd humor just for the sake of it. But at just 94 minutes, this film doesn’t overstay its welcome, and it pairs up two exciting actors who are always a delight to watch.
