‘Oh hi!’ Film Review: a romantic dramedy takes an odd turn

[MOLLY GORDON as Iris, LOGAN LERMAN as Isaac in ‘Oh, Hi!’ Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics]

A new Sony Pictures Classics film, written and directed by Sophie Brooks, just dropped. Oh, Hi! takes us to an adorable 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 feels romantic and dreamy, with a cloud of unpredictability looming over the character's heads that I couldn't wait to watch burst. While there are moments where you might think, Is Isaac a bad guy? What is he up to? What is going to happen at this farmhouse? The film remained funny and light even when those thoughts crossed my mind. Then comes a steamy night involving handcuffs Iris finds in a locked closet, claiming closed doors give her anxiety. At first, the handcuffs seem like part of the fun, but we soon find out they are a significant part of the plot.

That same night, everything changed. During a conversation about their relationship, while Isaac is still handcuffed, Iris realizes they're not on the same page. She thought they were committed to each other, given the emotional connection and boyfriend-like behavior (rightfully so), 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 slightly unhinged, 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. (That makes complete sense; my friends and I always do this.) 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 because 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 got weird 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 probably would've 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. 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 romcoms of the summer, but I felt the film stepping down from its pedestal as the minutes passed. The chemistry alone worked wonders on me, but by the end, it felt like the film didn't know what it wanted to be. This film may appeal to certain people even though it felt like a forced bond of multiple genres, so I'll spare the details of how it ends for those interested in seeing it themselves.

The film premieres in theaters on June 25. Let me know what you think about OH Hi! in the comments or on my social media.

WATCH THE TRAILER

NOVEMBER|ELEVENTH RATING

3 STARS