As modern multi-hyphenates go, Molly Gordon continues to establish herself as a star on the rise. Between her standout role in FX’s acclaimed The Bear and her directorial debut with 2023’s Theater Camp, Gordon has proven her versatility on both big and small screens. That’s without even mentioning her memorable supporting turns in Shiva Baby, Booksmart, and Good Boys. So it felt inevitable that she’d eventually land a Sundance dramedy as a leading vehicle. Enter Oh, Hi!, the sophomore feature from co-writer/director Sophie Brooks—a film that, on paper, lets Gordon showcase her more vulnerable side.
A dark comedy/would-be rom-com (or, as the youths might call it, a situationship comedy), Oh, Hi! owes more to Misery than When Harry Met Sally. The story follows Iris (Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman), a young-ish couple heading out for their first romantic weekend getaway. Their destination: a remote, Pinterest-perfect antique cabin outfitted with all the quaint fixings that could make even the most jaded heart flutter. The first night is idyllic—almost suspiciously so—but things unravel fast.
Great Premise, Mild Execution.
During a tense post-coital conversation, it’s revealed that Isaac doesn’t see the relationship the same way Iris does. He doesn’t even consider them a couple and seems unfazed by the unintentional intimacy of their weekend. Iris, hurt and blindsided, seizes on what was meant to be playful roleplay—BDSM handcuffs found in the closet—and turns it into a literal act of entrapment. Isaac’s not getting off the hook. Or, more accurately, not off the chain.
There’s certainly a version of this premise that could veer into darkly ribald or even cruel territory. But Oh, Hi! chooses a more low-key, good-natured tone for better or worse. The film gently positions Iris as troubled but earnest; we’re meant to feel for her, even as she heads down a softcore Annie Wilkes path. This tonal restraint makes the film more palatable, sure, but also blunts its edge. Brooks flirts with freakiness, and Gordon commits fully to the lewd and the unhinged, but the result is a confused tone—one part relationship dramedy, one part kinky psychodrama, with a few supernatural flourishes that feel more tacked-on than integrated. It’s more foreplay than follow-through.
A Movie About Commitment That Won’t Commit.
Which is a shame, because the cast is stacked with charm. Gordon and Lerman have strong presence, and Geraldine Viswanathan—always a bright spot in ensemble casts—plays Iris’s best friend Max with warm, steady chemistry. Her nerdy boyfriend Kenny (John Reynolds) ends up feeling the most at home in the film’s semi-whimsical mood. The confined cast works well together; you get the sense they’re having fun with the semi-spiky premise. But the material feels oddly meek and underdeveloped, never giving this game ensemble enough to chew on despite their willingness to get into bed (literally and figuratively) with a half-raunchy, half-affable script.
At times, it feels like the filmmakers are so taken with the idea—a man with commitment issues literally being tied down by a woman who wants more—that they forget to fully explore it. They tease a darker, more emotionally fraught version of this story but seem reluctant to follow it through. Perhaps it’s a modern sensibility, an unwillingness to be too angry, too nasty. But if the film wants to go soft, it needs stronger writing to support that choice. As it stands, Oh, Hi! drifts into the kind of aimlessness that often plagues Sundance-adjacent dramedies. It’s no surprise to learn that Brooks originally conceived it as a short film, and that Gordon helped expand it to feature length, albeit stretched thin.
The Bottom Line.
And maybe that’s the core irony of Oh, Hi!, a comedy about commitment that refuses to commit to the tonal risks its premise demands. Conceived during the pandemic while Gordon and Brooks were recovering from breakups, the film carries the residue of personal experience. But it rarely approaches raw or revealing truths. Instead, it leans on tepid humor and not-particularly-unique insights into modern dating. There’s a struggle to wring genuine tension or surprise from the limited setting. And while the concept is rich with metaphor, the execution is more safe than subversive.
If Oh, Hi! wants us to invest in this dysfunctional relationship—or in the larger story it’s telling—it needs to give us something more than a clever logline. As is, it’s a shaggy almost-rom-com that doesn’t quite commit to the comedy, the romance, or the darkness their foreplay would suggest.
