The premise of writer-director Sophie Brooks’ send-up of millennial dating mores, “Oh, Hi!,” hinges on an abrupt reversal of its trajectory near the end of its first act. It’s arguable whether or not this is a “twist” given how early it happens. The program notes for its Sundance Film Festival premiere do not mention this turn in the narrative. However, in press for the film out of the premiere, star and co-story developer Molly Gordon has not been shy about mentioning a key inspiration for the tone.
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The film works best with some element of surprise when it happens, so this review will largely sidestep the nature of the shifting sands within “Oh, Hi!” There’s something oddly clarifying about being presented with such a hard plot pivot and realizing, “Oh, this is that kind of movie!” It becomes the ultimate YMMV (your mileage may vary) comedy because your enjoyment of the film will likely hinge on your immediate reaction to this abrupt pivot.
“Oh, Hi!” starts out like a straight-up-the-middle romance with Gordon’s Iris and Logan Lerman’s Isaac heading upstate for their inaugural weekend trip away together. Both stars turn up the charm factor to a million as they probe the boundaries of each other’s physical and emotional intimacy. Brooks’ script nails the witty repartee of two lovers in the early stages of their puppy love. They’re still preening for each other to some extent, but their true colors begin to show as well.
If this were the golden age of rom-coms, Gordon and Lerman would make for a perfect pairing in an earnest genre outing. She brings a fast-charging energy to Iris reminiscent of vintage Hepburn, while his adaptable and gullible Isaac recalls Cary Grant trying to keep up and assert himself in her wake. But this is a different era, defined by a lack of commitment and clarity around the ultimate aims of a relationship, so neither can map quite so neatly back to a Hollywood archetype.
The best way to unobtrusively describe what follows in “Oh, Hi!” is a comedy of manners for a generation with no manners. A “situationship” quickly goes sideways as Iris realizes Isaac does not share her conception of what the two of them share, and she quickly goes spiraling like many a contemporary woman dealing with today’s crop of grown manchildren on the dating market. How she responds from that moment is likely where audience identification with Iris stops.
Brooks takes what could be the premise of a FunnyOrDie or CollegeHumor-style video sketch and extends it over 90 minutes in “Oh, Hi!” It occasionally strains to match the expansiveness required to sustain a feature-length narrative, but the film holds together remarkably well given the simplicity of its concept. Iris’ desperate gamble to make Isaac share her definition of the relationship becomes a tight-rope walk that Brooks and Gordon handle with minimal slippage.
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It helps that the film’s dip into absurdity always stays grounded in bizarre plausibility. “Oh, Hi!” owns its deep silliness, but it never succumbs to it largely due to Gordon’s carefully calibrated performance. In each scene, she knows exactly where the line between naturalism and exaggeration exists so she can take one step over the line out of reality. Her comic characterization ensures that while Iris’ actions often tip over into the inexplicable and indefensible, her intentions always feel familiar.
The film is at its best when it’s a two-hander between lovers on the rocks. Brooks casts a particular ecosystem for the duo where an incredulous Lerman, playing deliciously against type as the squeaky-clean white boy of the month, faces off against an intractable Gordon. This “good for her”-inflected take on modern courtship loses some energy when Iris’ friends, Max (Geraldine Viswanathan) and her boyfriend Kenny (John Reynolds), show up to help her mitigate the damage done.
The late introduction of this couple, who feel like they walked out of a purely comic movie where regular rules of logic and reasoning don’t exist, throws off the delicate balance of “Oh, Hi!” They’re still amusing presences, but they mainly serve to highlight how thinly the film’s idea is stretching to hit feature length. So while this send-up might not pass the scrutiny for a rewatch or cult classic, it’s at least good for one fun and unexpected go-round. [B]
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