Sophie Brooks’ “Oh, Hi!” gets its title from a cornball pun on Ohio and a sign visible in a small town where our young lovers are on a getaway.
Isaac (Logan Lerman) and Iris (Molly Gordon) have been going out for some time, visibly affectionate in their relationship and on a road trip to an isolated cottage.
It begins as a sweet, unironic and straightforward romantic comedy, develops into a collection of intimate moments, then takes a wild turn. Without spoiling the twist, Isaac and Molly discover a closet with contents that shock the young lovers.
Their curiosity and shared comfort with one another ease into a night of unguarded honesty and wind up being a terrible idea. The elevator pitch is “Before Sunset” (1995) crossed with “Misery” (1990), but even that doesn’t really cover it.
I managed to see “Oh, Hi!” without any promotional materials spoiling the second act, and I’d advise everyone else to do the same. The element of surprise is key, though it needs to be said that the film is consistently funny and engaging, not punishing.
Not a horror film, as it never stops being funny, but there is a sustained tension in the second and third act. Call it genre fluid, as it manages to shift tones and alter our perspective on the gradually changing scenario without losing our interest or collapsing into anarchy.
Lerman, best known for the “Percy Jackson” films (2010-2013) and his terrific lead turn in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012) is first rate and so is Gordon, who co-wrote the story with Brooks and is a standout in the FX on Hulu series, “The Bear” (2022-Present).
The actors made me root for Isaac and Iris in the first act, then kept reversing my feelings for them once secrets kept unveiling.
I wanted the ending to be stronger and harsher in its assessment, if not outright punishment, for both characters. It’s strange that a film would take this many chances and succeed at juggling them, then visibly worry that the audience will walk away uncomfortable.
Sophie Brooks is clearly not Ari Aster.
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The biggest success in “Oh, Hi!” isn’t just the two pitch-perfect lead performances but how well the screenplay introduces familiar tropes, setting up plot strands that seem to be going in a familiar direction, then doesn’t.
Walking out of “Oh, Hi!,” I wish the ending was stronger and more impactful. Yet, the film is unpredictable, daring and leaves you thinking, which is more than I can say about most romantic comedies.
I’m glad I saw “Oh, Hi!” but wish the screenplay, for all of its audacious touches, had gone even further in the final moments. Is this a date movie? It depends on how well you know your partner and if you’re both able to laugh at the tricky complications depicted.
Brooks’ film is like a lower key but equally provocative companion to, well, “Companion” (2025). Both films begin like rom-com fodder, take bold, dark turns and manage to balance laughs with insightful observations on why long-term relationships either go the distance or shatter.
Add the upcoming “Together” and the remake of “The War of the Roses” to the batch, and you’ve got a good year for squirm-inducing anti-rom-coms.
Two and a Half Stars