I’ve been settled down for quite some time, and only scratched the surface of online dating before I was thankfully able to find someone and delete all of the apps indefinitely. The concepts of modern dating are foreign to me, particularly the concept of a situationship which “Oh, Hi” quickly reveals to be about in some absurdly silly and funny ways. I get it now, obviously, but despite me being out the game I was still about to tap into the wacky yet sincere exploration of new relationships, heartbreak, and the inability to communication intentionality honestly.
Truth be told, “Oh, Hi!” shouldn’t work. It’s a film that starts simple enough but quickly escalates into some pretty fantastical situations, many of which could be easily solved by people simply making more logical choices. But it worked for me in spite of a necessary requirement to suspend a lot of belief and a rather contrived and far fetched third act resolution.
It becomes quickly apparent that Sophie Brooks has had some not so great experiences in the dating pool, as she injects this wild but funny tale with a strong sense of personal experience and comedic flare. Written and directed by Brooks in her directorial feature film debut, “Oh, Hi!” follows a new couple Iris (Molly Gordon) and Issac (Logan Lerman) who set out on their first romantic getaway together. Everything is going great and after discovering some bondage toys in the closet of the rental house, they decide to try something new and get a little risky leaving Issac handcuffed to the bed. In the haze of post coitus, Iris mentions that it’s their first night away together as a couple, to which Issac – still handcuffed – admits to her that he’s not really looking for anything serious. This is a far cry from where Iris thought, and after she refuses to unlock him, so begins a series of escalating shenanigans that forces both irrational response and honest self awareness out of everyone involved. It also stars Geraldine Viswanathan, John Reynolds and an always hilarious David Cross.
“Oh Hi!” is a sort of millennial “Misery” told through a series of unfortunate situationships. There’s an earnestness from Brooks’ direction and screenplay that allows even the most outlandish events to remain hopelessly charming and romantic. It’s a front loaded film, with most of its detractors coming towards the second half where Brooks starts to get a little lost in incomprehensible decisions made by pretty much every single character. The longer it goes on the more it drifts into a satirical farce rather than a straightforward situational rom-com, and even by the limits of the most convient tropes starts to push the lines of even the most silly cliches baked into the genre. But even when it starts to get way from itself, it remains strangely intriguing and wholly watchable, and kind of asks you to stop worry about what normal people would do and just enjoy the fallout of exaggerated characters.
This is largely due to the strong cast and excellent chemistry between Gordon and Lerman. It’s the kind of chemistry that largely overcomes the more goofy conclusions stemming from “Oh, Hi’s” clever set up premise. Though Lerman spends most of the film handcuffed to a bed post, he matches the wild and uncontainable comedic energy of Gordon. Both understand their intentions in the relationship and their own misinterpretations of it, allowing Brooks to explore the anxieties of relationships and the complexities of heartache and expectations in romantic relationships. Milage may vary on how far you’re willing to follow her leaps off the deep end, and I’d argue that there’s a lot of fun to be had if you let it take you wherever it wants to go.
I had a really good time with “Oh, Hi!” and even when the train starts to go off the tracks I stayed aboard and along for the ride and felt rewarded for doing so. It also confirms my suspicions that dating today kind of awful and I’m probably better off booed up and domesticated.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
“Oh, Hi!” had its premiere at The Sundance Film Festival and is playing in theaters July 25th. You can watch the trailer below.
