Synopsis: Iris has met her perfect guy, Isaac, and is enjoying their first romantic getaway together — what could go wrong?
Stars: Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, John Reynolds, David Cross, Polly Draper
Director: Sophie Brooks
Rated: R
Running Length: 94 minutes
Movie Review in Brief: There’s something occasionally innovative and mean and oddly moving in Oh, Hi!. Despite its absurd flourishes that can feel a bit too Sundance-cute, it doesn’t exist to hand out moral gold stars. It just shows how badly people want connection, how far they’ll go to keep it—even when it’s already gone.
Review:
There’s a particular type of romantic comedy that wears its bouquet of sunshine like armor, hiding sharp edges, barbed wit, and a persistent ache just underneath the gloss. Oh, Hi! wants to be that kind of movie, and for a while, it succeeds brilliantly. Director Sophie Brooks and co-writer/star Molly Gordon front-load it with sunlit weekend vibes, a flirty road trip, and a couple who skipped a few hard conversations. Then gradually pull the rug out from under you.
The first five minutes are a small masterclass in tonal bait-and-switch, and it’s a good indicator of how fast “perfect” can turn to “OMFG” in this world. To help set the mood, Conor Murphy‘s cinematography captures the upstate New York setting with a crispness that underscores growing tension, while April Lasky‘s production design walks the fine line between cozy harvest chic and clean, clinical lines. Before you know it, you’re in a movie that starts like 500 Days of Summer, detours through Misery, dangles near The Lobster, and comes out the other side as something surprisingly self-aware, and yes, a little deranged.
Weekend Getaway Gone Wrong
Iris (Gordon, Theater Camp) thinks this weekend away with her new-ish flame, Isaac (Logan Lerman, Shirley), is the start of something real. There’s candlelight, dancing, and a touch of kinky roleplay. Then, while still handcuffed to the bed and basking in afterglow, Isaac casually mentions he’s not looking for a relationship. Quite different from where Iris felt they stood. Her response? She refuses to unlock him. What follows is a cringe comedy turned psychological standoff, stretched over 94 minutes with both characters flailing to assert control over a connection that was never on equal footing.
Gen-Z's Answer to Fatal Attraction
At its best, Oh, Hi! is a Gen-Z breakup fable that embraces awkwardness and moral ambiguity. Making room for a naked ritual, a memory-erasing potion, and a nosy neighbor played by David Cross (You Hurt My Feelings) who does nothing in particular, Brooks and Gordon keep things grounded with strong thematic through-lines. Oh, Hi! isn’t really about kidnapping or magic potions—it’s about that maddening gray area where relationships implode over mismatched expectations and the lies people tell themselves in the name of love. The movie has plenty to say about monogamy, emotional labor, and how people manipulate each other under the guise of romance, and it conveys these themes without leaning too heavily into didacticism.
Neither Hero Nor Villain
The strange thing about Oh, Hi! is that no one is especially likable here, yet they’re all recognizably human. Iris wants Isaac to be her person so badly that she forgets to check if he even wants to be in the same room. Gordon proves a fascinating screen presence, terrific at playing “almost chill” while fraying at the edges. Her refusal to let Isaac go isn’t played for horror, but it definitely leans into increasingly distressful discomfort as Iris flip-flops between affection, desperation, and violence while never losing that sad-sack relatability. She wants love, sure, but also validation and control.
She gets strong support from Lerman, who does remarkable work with limited mobility—literally. Tied to the bed for much of the film, he still delivers a performance that reads reactive and self-interested in a way that complicates the power dynamics. As we get more context for his past, his sly emotional slipperiness and manipulation become harder to excuse. He’s not a hero, but — and this is crucial —he’s not a victim either. In the end, you root for neither Iris nor Isaac, but you understand both.
When Friends Enter the Fray
The film’s midpoint signals a shakeup with the introduction of Max (Geraldine Viswanathan, Thunderbolts*) and Kenny (John Reynolds, Genie), friends roped in to help clean up another one of Iris’s messes. Their arrival shifts the tone from 1:1 psychological comedy to full-on group absurdist farce, and not all of it lands. Max is all blunt wisdom, while Kenny mostly bumbles around looking exhausted but loyal. Their banter adds a degree of levity, but also holds up a mirror for Iris, whose actions veer further into chaotic girlfriend territory the more she tries to justify them.
When she floats the idea of murder and then settles for a memory-wiping ritual from Max instead, you start to wonder if the breakup isn’t the only thing she’s trying to forget. Casting Cross as a obnoxious neighbor and then underusing him is a shame, since he could’ve added more disorder to a back half that starts feeling stretched thin.
A Post-Date Movie Worth Discussing
Emotionally, Oh, Hi! stays intentionally murky. There are no heroes here, nor is there easy catharsis; only people caught in the exhausting mess of trying to make something stick. That messiness might frustrate some viewers who may feel, as I did, that its premise only has enough battery life for 45 minutes. Running 94, it starts to feel like a clever short film trapped in a feature’s body, especially as the film’s second half leans increasingly into whimsy and then stubbornly refuses to end. But I appreciated its refusal to play nice or offer easy answers.
Still, there’s something occasionally innovative and mean and oddly moving here. Despite its absurd flourishes that can feel a bit too Sundance-cute, it doesn’t exist to hand out moral gold stars. It just shows how badly people want connection, how far they’ll go to keep it—even when it’s already gone. This isn’t a date movie, but it is a post-date movie—one that makes you examine your own dealbreakers and dodged bullets.
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