Oh, Hi! Movie Review

If you like the song “Islands in the Stream” by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, this is the movie for you. Well, there’s more. ​

Suppose you watched “The Bear” and enjoyed Molly Gordon’s performance as Claire. In that case, the Iris you get in this film is not much different from Claire, in that you can see there’s something more going on behind the eyes, adding an additional “This is the movie for you” praise.

The film does star Gordon, but she also shares a “story by” credit with writer/director Sophie Brooks, yet the screenplay was written and directed by Brooks alone. If you’re curious about the title, you’ll find out what “Oh, Hi” means while watching—no reason to wreck it for you. Logan Lerman from “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” also stars.

Lerman plays Isaac, who appears to have a slight aversion to commitment. Gordon does a spectacular job of representing a woman in need of love, but who doesn’t know what it is. Iris expects her long-held belief of what true love means to be found on a road trip she takes with Isaac. She sees him as the perfect boyfriend, only to find out he doesn’t care for the description, definitely not seeing her as the horrid word “girlfriend.” More character development would have been nice, some backstory, but we jump right in with them on a trip. After some cute romantic scenes, we’re suddenly getting a Stephen King’s “Gerald’s Game” vibe when kissing turns into kink.

It isn’t easy to tell what you’re ultimately going to get from “Oh, Hi,” and it all but dies about halfway through. I was hoping it would pick back up, but it already used most of what it had to give in the second act. Not all is lost. The acting is excellent; there are some characters that you, at least, enjoy while they’re on screen, and it does give the audience a bit of a warning to take note of. That is, know someone really well before you get into games that include you being tied up.

There isn’t a lot of essence to the film. I hate to say that the characters are a bit hollow; they are not wholly fleshed out. Perhaps that’s because the story dragged on too long before finding its authentic voice and purpose, making it difficult for you to keep watching. She’s the reason to watch, with her crazy eyes. However, I will say that there’s no motivation to go to the theater… unless you like David Cross as much as I do. His take on crazy neighbor could inspire you to see it as soon as possible.