I hit play on Oh, Hi! expecting a cute little indie rom-com. You know, soft lighting, flirty banter, some tears, a cozy Airbnb in the woods. And technically, I got all of that — but with a hefty side of emotional chaos, handcuffs, and a full-blown breakdown that somehow feels both absurd and totally relatable. I didn’t know I was in the mood for a romantic comedy that spirals into psychological warfare, but here we are, and I had a blast.
Written and directed by Sophie Brooks, Oh, Hi! is like if 500 Days of Summer went on a panic bender and locked its love interest to a bed. The film centers on Iris (played wonderfully by Gordon) and her boyfriend Isaac (Logan Lerman), a seemingly happy couple heading out on their first romantic weekend away. There’s a scenic farmhouse, candlelit dinners, even some unexpected kink. All the ingredients for a steamy, meaningful getaway.
Except… it turns into a slow-motion disaster.
What starts as a sexy escape quickly morphs into something more unhinged when Iris finds out — after some light bondage fun — that Isaac doesn’t think they’re exclusive. Cue the sound of a woman’s sanity snapping like a twig. She doesn’t let him go. Literally. He’s still handcuffed to the bed when she decides to have an emotional reckoning instead of an adult conversation.
From there, things spiral, fast. It’s dark. It’s funny. It’s uncomfortably real. And while it should be completely unhinged (and okay, sometimes it is), it somehow always manages to feel grounded. Maybe because Iris, in all her impulsiveness and panic, feels so heartbreakingly familiar.
Let’s talk about Molly Gordon for a second. She gives Iris this raw, erratic energy that could easily slip into cartoonish territory, but she keeps it grounded with these little flickers of vulnerability. We’ve all had moments — maybe not handcuff-your-boyfriend-to-a-bed moments — but moments of feeling like we’re trying way too hard to make something work that clearly isn’t. Gordon captures that quiet desperation beautifully, all while delivering laugh-out-loud lines and heartbreaking monologues sometimes within the same scene.
Logan Lerman, as Isaac, also nails the tricky balance of being likable and kind of a clueless jerk. He’s not a villain. He’s not a heartless player. He’s just that guy who thinks he’s being honest when he says, “We never said we were exclusive,” right after you’ve met his mom and baked banana bread together. Lerman plays Isaac with enough warmth that you’re frustrated with him, not at him.
The film gets even weirder (in the best way) when Iris calls her best friend Max (played by the ever-funny Geraldine Viswanathan) and Max’s boyfriend Kenny (John Reynolds) into the chaos. Suddenly it becomes a group therapy session slash hostage situation. Add a strange witchcraft subplot and a locked room mystery, and you’re really cooking with gas.
That might sound like too much — and sometimes it is — but it works because the film leans fully into the absurdity. It knows it’s a little messy. It’s not trying to be sleek or polished. It’s about messy people doing messy things, and it somehow never loses its footing.
Now, is everything perfect? Not quite. The witchcraft stuff feels like an indie-film fever dream that didn’t quite land for me, and some of the tonal shifts are abrupt. But honestly? That feels like dating in 2025. You go in thinking you’re just getting brunch, and suddenly you’re crying in the Target parking lot because someone said they “weren’t ready for labels.”
What really works in Oh, Hi! is how it tackles modern romance with humor and brutal honesty. It understands the anxiety spiral that comes from reading too much into a text, or the sickening drop in your stomach when you realize your person isn’t quite on the same page — or maybe not even in the same book. It’s not afraid to let its main character look a little (okay, a lot) unhinged, and it’s all the more refreshing because of that.
This isn’t your typical rom-com with a third-act grand gesture and a kiss in the rain. It’s more like a therapy session wrapped in chaos, and if you’ve ever found yourself frantically Googling “signs he’s not that into you” at 2 a.m., this one’s for you.
In short? Oh, Hi! is weird, wild, and unexpectedly heartfelt. It’s a rom-com for anyone who’s ever loved a little too hard, spiraled a little too far, and still hoped for a happy ending — even if that ending involves breaking out the handcuff keys and walking away.
Director: Sophie Brooks
Cast: Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan
Writers: Sophie Brooks, (story by Sophie Brooks, Molly Gordon)
Producers: David Brooks, Sophie Brooks, Dan Clifton, Molly Gordon
Composer: Steven Price
Cinematographer: Conor Murphy
Editor: Kayla Emter
Screening or Streaming Availability:
