Oh, Hi! Review

"Oh, Hi!" Stretches Credulity a Bit Too Far in a RomCom Gone Wild

By: Marc Kozak

Oh, Hi!

"Oh, Hi!" Stretches Credulity a Bit Too Far in a RomCom Gone Wild

By: Marc Kozak

Men are afraid of commitment and women crave love and intimacy: those are the stereotypes that have caused couples to butt heads in countless romantic comedies (and in real life, I suppose) for many eons. Everyone wants to be loved, but traditionally it seems like women are a lot more willing to give love, sometimes so much so that they are labelled as "desperate" or even "crazy". Director Sophie Brooks takes these classic gender roles and stretches them to their extremes in a darkly playful but ultimately shallow exploration of the lack of communication in relationships.

For the first 20 minutes, we basically watch a couple have a lovely time on their first trip together. Iris (Molly Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman) can't seem to take their eyes of each other as they hit the road to spend a weekend together at a romantic rental house. They belt out songs in the car, swim in the lake, and read books while sipping wine, all while constantly touching, kissing, and taking breaks to have lots of sex. They are seemingly very much a young couple on the cusp of love, as the camera frequently catches Iris' face almost in disbelief at how lucky she is to have found such a perfect partner. When they discover some kinky sex toys in a closet, Isaac volunteers to get tied to the bed for some naughty fun, and as the pair bask in the post-sex glow, Iris happily exclaims that she couldn't have asked for a better start to their “first trip as a couple.”

Things start to rapidly shift gears from there, as Isaac balks at the idea that they even are a couple, eventually revealing that he wasn't really looking for a relationship and has continued having sex with other women. He swears that he's told Iris all of this before, but Iris is crushed, as she thought they had reached a level of intimacy that was way beyond anything casual. Why Isaac decided to start this conversation while still tied up is a bit much, but it sets up the next phase of the movie where Iris angrily leaves him tied to the bed as she starts to go a little bit...well, crazy.

" The movie works as a silly fantasy about someone who acts on those crazy thoughts of anger that we all have in our quiet moments alone. "

Iris decides that Isaac is only saying all of this because he just doesn't know her well enough, so she tells him that she's going to leave him tied up for the next 12 hours so she can convince him that they were meant to be together. Earlier in the movie when the pair discussed past relationships, Iris made a remark about wanting to stab an ex-boyfriend, which seemed like a joke at the time but now strikes Isaac as a bright red flag he missed, and he increasingly begins to believe his life is in real danger.

This is the most entertaining part of the movie, as Gordon really gets to showcase a wide variety of deranged behavior. She becomes a non-stop chatterbox, telling Isaac all about her life from the moment of her birth, spilling out details that often go way beyond being vulnerable. No thought is left unsaid as she remains convinced that she can win Isaac over. She does a sexy dance routine, she helps Isaac urinate, and she refuses Isaac's repeated attempts to get her to let him out of the restraints. Things are played most for laughs in this part, and Brooks seems content to just have people laugh at how crazy Iris is being, as if we are supposed to relate to her behavior as something we've all at least thought about doing in our darkest moments of heartbreak or anxiety over whether or not our feelings are being returned.

If this is meant to poke fun at our dark fantasies, it probably isn't nearly dark enough; it would've been interesting to see this concept lean more into its horror elements. Brooks is clearly keeping it light, especially after Iris' best friend shows up with her boyfriend in tow, leading to a lot more absurd comedy as the group tries to figure out how to get out of this situation without everyone going to jail. No one ever really scolds Iris for her behavior; the movie and it's supporting cast are clearly on Iris' side, kidnapping be damned. The movie isn't at all rooted in realism (whether a spell performed by witchcraft worked or not is a key plot point), but things build up to a final act that is so unbelievable that it feels like a bridge too far, wrapping things up with a simple conversation that states the obvious: these two should have never been together.

It's easy to sympathize with Iris on a core level; we've all likely experienced feelings for someone who doesn't reciprocate and doesn't communicate. She has love to give and wants to get it back, a totally reasonable expectation. And anyone who has dated recently knows how frustrating it is to get your hopes up over and over before having them dashed by people who either aren't on the same page or aren't as ready as you are for a true connection. So yes, "Oh, Hi!" works as a silly fantasy about someone who acts on those crazy thoughts of anger that we all have in our quiet moments alone, and the movie excels when it coasts on Gordon's effectively bipolar performance.

But the story simply defies any kind of reality too often to allow any kind of actual emotional connection, and Brooks doesn't seem all that interested in aiming much higher than getting a few laughs of empathy from those who may have been in the same boat. Which isn't a terrible thing; "Oh, Hi!" is a pretty fun time, but it lacks the edge or narrative cohesion needed to make the most out of a good concept.