Oh, Hi!
'Max, I did something bad,' Iris (Molly Gordon, TV's 'The Bear') tells her bestie over the phone from a rural Airbnb. 33 hours earlier, Iris was enjoying a blissful romantic getaway with her boyfriend Isaac (Logan Lerman, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," "Indignation") until she found out they had radically different views on their relationship status in "Oh, Hi!"
Laura's Review: C
Writer/director Sophie Brooks ("The Boy Downstairs"), who cooked up this story with producer/star Gordon, exhibits a great aptitude for romantic comedy before shooting herself in the foot with the twist that completely upends her film, a fumble as head scratching as the film's nonsensical title, a phrase uttered once when Iris is surprised by Max's arrival. It is a shame, really, because until Iris does something totally inconceivable, especially after it isn't immediately rectified by Max (Geraldine Viswanathan, "Blockers," "Thunderbolts") and her boyfriend Kenny (John Reynolds, "Save Yourselves!"), "Oh, Hi!" is quite charming, Gordon and Lerman clicking like humorous soulmates.
We'll meet them in the car, traveling towards the country home that's been rented for the weekend. Along the way they'll have a humorous encounter with a woman's (Diana Irvine, "Good One") roadside strawberry stand, then begin with the banter as Iris declares a psychological need to christen new spaces with sex. They'll enjoy a flirtatious romp in the swimming hole behind the house and laze about in Adirondacks, Isaac caressing Iris's bare foot. Iris is amazed when Isaac cooks her scallops for dinner and things get spicier when they decide to play with the restraints Iris found in a closet, but when she refers to them as a couple after some rip-roaring sex, Isaac balks. And that's when the movie goes off the rails.
Perhaps it might be believable that Iris would keep Isaac shackled to a bed for twelve hours in the hopes of convincing him they belong together, although even that is a stretch, but that two other people would arrive, see what she's done and leave him there is not. There is a funny moment or two, Isaac encouraging Iris to recreate a sixth grade dance for him in an attempt to humor her delusion, but mostly every attempt at humor from this point on falls flat, Iris and Max's attempt to keep Kenny from using the bathroom upstairs seemingly interminable. Brooks does achieve a soft landing which allows Gordon and Lerman to bounce back from off-putting behavior, but it is not enough to save the film. And these two were so good together until they get deep-sixed by the narrative, a flashback to a third date giving credence to Iris's understanding of the relationship (although a one-sided phone call we hear Isaac taking from his mom on the trip out sounds like an inside joke at Iris's expense in a script that seems to want to have it both ways). Viswanathan manages to make her personality emerge from a poorly written character while Reynolds is an amiable goof. I'm still trying to figure out why David Cross (TV's 'Arrested Development') is in this movie, his character, Steve, serving no purpose except oddity. Polly Draper (TV's 'Thirtysomething') has a brief cameo on a cellphone screen as Iris's mom.
"Oh, Hi!" could have gone to so many different places, but the strained contrivance Brooks opted for is a dead end.
Robin's Review: C-
Iris (Molly Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman) have been dating for four months and are spending the weekend at idyllic farmhouse in the country. Romance runs high and they discover the owner’s sex shackles which leads to an unexpected revelation in “Oh, Hi!”
This starts out innocently enough when they find the owner’s sex restraints and decide to do a little experimenting. She agrees to be bound in bed then freaks out and changes her mind and they swap places. They enjoy their kinky sex but after, Isaac stuns her with “I’m not looking for a relationship.” It is not what she was expecting.
This is the point where director Sophie Brooks goes off the rails with her story of jilted love. It was probably not the best idea for Isaac to make his declaration while shackled - she told him about a boyfriend who dumped her and she said she could kill him with a knife. “Just kidding,” says she.
Iris refuses to unchain him and leaves him tied up over night. The next morning she makes him breakfast (sort of) and makes a proposal. He has to give her 12 hours to convince him that she is the one. She then enlists her BFF Max (Geraldine Viswanathan) to help her, who, in turn, drags her boyfriend, Kenny (John Reynolds), along for the ride.
Kenny, a big “Law and Order” fan, realizes that what Iris has done is kidnapping and, by just being there, they become accomplices in a federal crime. This is where the schemes to get out of the jam become more and more absurd, if not just plain stupid.
Sophomore helmer and co-writer, with her star Molly Gordon, make too many assumptions on what is funny. Maybe it is a femme thing but for me, a guy, I found the idea cringe-worthy and horrific. I, for one, would never willingly be retrained so, right off the bat, I had problems. The torture that follows, as benign and “funny” it is supposed to be, could give me nightmares.
The first 30 minutes or so sets the tone of rom-com with a twist. When things get out of hand, the solution is to get absurdist about it and that is where “Oh, Hi!” hits the skids. Bringing in Max and Kenny tempers the absurd, a bit, but only to bring in more absurd. Kenny, by the way, is the sole voice of reason.
Sony Pictures Classics releases "Oh, Hi!" in theaters on 7/25/25.
