Oh, Hi!: From Scallops to Spells, A Love Story Unhinged
[MOLLY GORDON as Iris, LOGAN LERMAN as Isaac in ‘Oh, Hi!’ Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics]
A new Sony Pictures Classics film just dropped! Oh, Hi!, written and directed by Sophie Brooks, takes us to a quaint little farmhouse in upstate New York, where Iris and Isaac (Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman) spend a romantic weekend away. The vibes are on point. They stop for strawberries (hilarious all on its own), explore the nearby lake, meet a weird neighbor, and end the night with a beautiful dinner in the yard that Isaac prepares. The man cooked scallops! Everything seems to tick all the boxes of what a perfect day would look like, but you can't help but wonder if the other shoe will drop. The movie is still light and humorous, despite the slight cloud of uncertainty floating above their heads. Then comes a steamy night involving handcuffs Iris finds in a locked closet. At first, they seem like part of the fun, but we soon find out they are a significant part of the plot.
The night seemed perfect. But afterward, during a conversation about their relationship, Iris realizes they're not on the same page. The good news is, they can probably handle this like adults. The bad news is, Isaac is still handcuffed. Iris thought they were committed to each other, given the emotional connection and boyfriend-like behavior, but Isaac sees it differently. He says something that makes it clear he's still sleeping with other people. Eventually, Isaac falls asleep, but an enraged Iris doesn't. Instead, she spends the entire night spiraling, talking to herself, googling how to make a man commit, and reading advice that feeds her obsession to fix this situation. By morning, exhausted and mentally scattered, Iris decides she will leave Isaac handcuffed for twelve hours to buy her enough time to convince him they belong together. Even when she has to find him a bowl to urinate in, it doesn't register to her how wild and borderline criminal this is. As for Isaac, he's in the bedroom, panicked and thinking about the comment she made the day before about almost harming a past boyfriend.
As Iris becomes visibly upset, it's fun to watch and wonder what will come next, but by the second half, the tone unravels into strange territory. Isaac realizes the situation is escalating, so he tries to stay calm, listens carefully to Iris' lengthy stories, and looks for ways to de-escalate the situation as things get stranger, all while still handcuffed.
Then Iris calls her best friend Max, convinced she may have killed him during another heated argument. Max shows up with her boyfriend, adding another layer of humor and chaos. But instead of grounding the situation, Max suggests casting a forgetting spell to make the whole thing disappear. And the film just rolls with this madness. (totally normal). What started as a romantic dramedy shifts into a surreal comedic psychological thriller with no real transition. The first act is hilarious, and the writing was entertaining, with warm visuals and intense chemistry between Molly and Isaac that made me want to keep watching. There is no weak link when it comes to the acting, but this borderline ridiculous shift into nothingness trampled all over the rest of the movie.
That's where the movie lost me. Not because it attempted to take the story to another level, but because these artistic choices didn't feel natural or earned. In a few minutes, the friends go from brainstorming how to fix things to fully joining Iris in her absurdity. There's no surreal tone or dream logic to support that random pivot. If they had been high, maybe. In fact, if there were shrooms involved, I would have enjoyed the journey a lot more. But they weren't high, and their wine was fresh. The choices feel less like character decisions and more like the writer's reach. As soon as the plot thickens and Isaac realizes he may be in danger, it felt like the audience and Isaac had the same reactions. Completely blindsided by the turn of events and unsure how to react. What began as a bright, funny look at the annoying truths of modern dating ends in chaos, and not the fun kind. It felt like an SNL skit of Misery with Kathy Bates when it could have made an impact if the second act hadn't gone so fantastical. I was almost convinced this would be one of my favorite rom-coms of the summer, but as the minutes passed, I felt it slowly stepping down from its pedestal. The chemistry alone worked wonders on me, but by the end, it felt like the film didn’t quite know what it wanted to be.
That being said, OH, Hi! is still worth a watch, even if it feels like a forced blend of multiple genres. Molly Gordon does a great job leaping from mood to mood, and Logan Lerman isn’t far behind, fully committed to his role. OH, Hi! is visually appealing, with cozy countryside views during both day and night that only someone completely unhinged wouldn’t want to bask in. (I’m looking at you, Iris.)
I’ll spare the details of how it ends for those interested in seeing it themselves, but it’s worth knowing that the film veers into some rather random pockets.
Add to your letterboxd watchlist and be sure to catch OH,HI! in theatres July 25th. Let me know what you think!
WATCH THE TRAILER
NOVEMBER|ELEVENTH RATING
3 STARS
