‘Oh, Hi!’ review: A wacky romcom tied up in laughs

A couple’s weekend away goes awry in Sophie Brooks’ Oh, Hi! about millennial dating etiquette, situationships, and a pair of handcuffs.

The new romcom Oh, Hi! gets its title from an early disagreement between Iris (Molly Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman). It’s the beginning of their first, and probably last, weekend away as a couple, but don’t expect them to return in a timely manner. They’re a bit tied up at the moment.

You see, Iris thought they were a couple. They’ve been dating for a few months, it’s their first time out of town together, the mood is terribly romantic. Iris and Isaac have cooked in their Airbnb’s kitchen, fooled around on the couch, danced under twinkly lights. It’s the perfect beginning to a beautiful future together with the perfect man. What could possibly go wrong?

Everything. The answer to that question, as it is in most movies, is that everything could go wrong. For starters, Iris’ perfect man does not think they’re exclusive. Iris is Isaac’s situationship at best, willing to have a fun, carefree weekend with him and let things go where they may. Iris is beautiful, fun, and makes good French toast. Why put labels on like “relationship” on anything?

Iris doesn’t like that very much. Armed with a pair of handcuffs found while exploring the house, she decides Isaac doesn’t get to leave the house until their relationship is exactly that. A relationship. Thus, Iris joins the hyper-specific subgenre of “people named Iris whose weekend goes terribly wrong.”

Misery meets farmhouse chic.

This is the conflict at the heart of Oh, Hi!, Sophie Brooks’ charming, if uneven, romcom (cowritten with Gordon, whose writing credits include 2023’s Theater Camp). Anchored by dynamic performances and a farmhouse Airbnb to die for, Oh, Hi! shines best when Gordon and Lerman are alone. Their witty repartee and escalating arguments are compelling and hilarious, while their chemistry as a couple (or situationship, depending on who you side with) is believable and lived-in. You start to feel for them both, a little. Isaac may be your run-of-the-mill douchebag who won’t put a label on anything, but being handcuffed to a bed for hours does seem pretty miserable. Iris has so much love to give, but her increasing efforts to make Isaac love her are comically fun and deranged.

Couple’s retreat gone wrong.

Oh, Hi! works best as a two-hander. When the world goes beyond their bedroom—or at least, when Iris leaves the bedroom—it’s decidedly less compelling. Pulling in additional characters with little to do beyond support Iris’ hijinks leaves the action untethered. Oh, Hi! loses steam when the cast grows from two to four, creating a third act with more predictable stakes. The arrival of Geraldine Viswanathan and John Reynolds as Iris’ friends is funny and endearing, but are the duo given little to do beyond supporting Iris’ rights and wrongs.

The bottom line.

It’s refreshing to see a romantic comedy let its main characters be at times unlikable, and Oh, Hi! mostly pulls that risk off. Brooks’ and Gordon’s screenplay is observant and fun; between this and Theater Camp, Gordon has a great career as a Zillennial Greta Gerwig ahead of her. If you’ve ever wondered what Misery might look like as a romantic comedy, then Oh, Hi! is here to fill that darkly funny, farcical void.

Oh, Hi! hits theaters on July 25. Watch the trailer here.

Images courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. Read more articles by Claire Di Maio here.

Claire Di Maio

Claire was once asked in elementary school why her go-to question was always, “Watch anything good lately?” It’s still her go-to question, because she loves hearing what other people are passionate about. She often sacrifices sleep in the hopes that she will one day clear her to-watch and to-read lists (a futile effort so far).