Movie Review: Oh, Hi!

By John Corrado

If, on the surface, Oh, Hi! might seem likely your typical indie romantic dramedy, it’s one with a blackly comic twist. Writer-director Sophie Brooks sets the stage for this in the opening scene, with female lead Iris (Molly Gordon) frantically telling her best friend Max (Geraldine Viswanathan) that she “did something bad.”

We then cut to 33 hours earlier, with Iris driving to the town of High Falls for a romantic weekend getaway with her boyfriend Isaac (Logan Lerman). It will be just the two of them alone in the country, their first trip together after dating for several months.

But, however idyllic things might initially seem – they sing together in the car, buy fresh strawberries from a stand on the side of the road, and make love as soon as they get in the house – that opening scene tells us that things will soon spiral out of control. Certain conversations are had, leading Iris and Isaac to realize that maybe they haven’t been completely upfront with each other. And then, well, she does something bad.

There are elements of a disturbing psychological thriller setup at the centre of Oh, Hi!, but it’s presented in the most playful and ironic, if-the-roles-were-reversed… way, which is a double-edged sword. You can justify a lot under the guise of camp, but much of the plot hinges on the characters making irrational choices, which can be frustrating to watch after a certain point. The characters often don’t behave like mature adults, which strips the film of much of its early nuance as a more sincere portrait of relationships and the importance of honesty within them.

The film’s basic premise is intriguing, raising questions about consent and power dynamics. But the exaggerated and ultimately sitcom-ish execution undercuts it. This is especially true in the last act, which takes some overtly ridiculous turns and goes on too long, with Brooks and Gordon (who co-wrote the story) not entirely sure where to take things. We are left with a series of baffling character choices that lack credibility, taking away much of the film’s depth.

Still, Oh, Hi! is largely entertaining, not least of which due to the performances of Gordon and Lerman, who each have to navigate tonally tricky roles and do keep the film watchable. It’s messy and doesn’t always work. But, at the very least, the film will likely cause its own share of debates among couples who go to see it.