Oh, Hi stars Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman as a would-be couple whose romantic rural getaway is turned upside down by a misunderstanding that careens into comedy of errors.
What starts as charming rom-com quickly careens into a tragicomedy about a situationship from hell when would-be couple Iris (Molly Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman) realize they’re not on the same page about their relationship. Despite story flaws, Oh, Hi‘s comedic highs and surprise profundidty make it worth the committment.
Oh, Hi is in theaters now.
Iris (Molly Gordon) is having an idyllic weekend Isaac (Logan Lerman) in the comfy countryside of High Falls, which she mistakenly reads as “O High” on a dilapited sign. The couple’s playful chiding after her mistake and a hilarious run-in with a strawberry stand (no but literally, Isaac accidentally drives into the stand leaving the woman behind it in disbelief) is swoon-inducing. It just seems like they get each other and their weird quirks. As they make out in their rustic vacation rental, their adorable banter about suffering from a rare disorder that forces them to have sex immediately whenever they visit somewhere new (“I haven’t seen you at the meetings,” Isaac quips), you can’t help but think they’re a match made in heaven even though they’ve only been seeing each other a few months.
Freeze frame. They weren’t.
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The first act of Oh, Hi is a charming rom-com conceit. A new couple from the city take a romantic trip to the countryside to be met with a series of ridiculous situations that just further strengthen their bond. Like while swimming in the pond just off the property they’re chastised by local Steve (David Cross) for having sex in the water (they weren’t). They laugh it off like they seem to do in any situation. They abide by relationship rule number one: commit to the bit. It’s a delight to watch and often laugh out loud funny. It helps that Gordon and Lerman have so much charisma and chemistry. That’s why when they decide to have some fun with a pair of handcuffs they find in the bedroom closet, it’s all fun and games. Until it isn’t.
In the afterglow of their sexual experimentation while Isaac is still handcuffed to the bed, Iris reveals she’s falling in love with him. Immediately, the warm spell of the movie is broken when Isaac quickly corrects her that he’s not looking for anything serious… Yeah, Iris doesn’t take that well. The revelation leads to a comedy of errors as Iris, fueled by her mother’s encouragement to fight for their relationship and, the real evil, relationship influencers, attempts to get Isaac to fall in love with her.
At times, Oh, Hi flirts with pulling a Misery. Gordon’s high-strung mania makes you feel like she can take a sledgehammer to Isaac’s ankles at any moment. Instead, the movie stays firmly in comedy territory as Iris’s increasingly desperate attempts to get Isaac to see the error of his ways gets more ridiculous. Eventually, she calls in reinforcements in the form of her best friend Max (Geraldine Viswanathan), and Max’s boyfriend, Kenny (John Reynolds), who may cause more harm than good.
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The ridiculousness of the situation often threatens to derail the legitimately biting probe into modern-day relationship dynamics and the dreaded situationship hell that is plauging every 20-somethings dating life. It’s a tragicomedy in that way. However, writer-director Sophie Brooks and Gordon, who co-penned the screenplay, struggle with the movie’s identity. At times Oh, Hi is a slapstick comedy of errors and others a profound dating dramedy and it can’t seem to find the right formula.
Despite its drawbacks, Oh, Hi‘s highs are… well, high. Lerman’s performance is a deeply complex speciman of the male psyche and their inability to get out of their own way (men would rather by handcuffed to a bed for days than go to therapy). Gordon, along with Viswanathan and Reynolds, hits every comedic beat with her drive delivery and manic mood swings. And the movie finds a touching middle ground in its debate of who’s right and who’s wrong in this situationship. Perhaps there was a great version of this movie to be found, but what’s there is worth the commitment.
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Hey! I’m Karl. You can find me on Twitter and Letterboxd. I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic.
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Hey, I’m Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven’t yet seen represented. I’m also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.