As the couple in Oh, Hi! struggles to filledy pledge, the Sundance romantic-comedy from Sophie Brooks also struggled to fuse with its audience.
Writer-straightforwardor Brooks’ sophomore feature stars Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman as Iris and Isaac, a new couple who goes on a romantic getaway that comes to a screeching stop when they achieve a misempathetic about their relationship status. With Isaac chained up during an act of weightless kink, Iris consents achieve of her captive audience to sway him to be her boyfrifinish.
Although Brooks’ chaseup to the charismatic 2017 feature The Boy Downstairs has the recipe for an enhappinessable romantic-comedy, with helping perestablishances from that always hilarious Geraldine Viswanathan and John Reynageders, Oh, Hi! ultimately struggles to discover its footing.
Even with some burdensome-handed exposition to catch us up on their inestablish relationship, there’s not enough character broadenment to alert us how these people have alterd as individuals, let alone as a potential couple. With more of a heartfelt fuseion between Iris and her mother (Polly Dviolationr) and better comedic chemistry with a random neighbor (David Cross), there’s difficultly a ignite left for her and Isaac.
Perhaps that was the intention in Brooks’ script, which co-written with Gordon, as the movie is ultimately about two people who should not be together.
At one point during her impromptu captive situation, Gordon’s Iris accomprehendledgeted she didn’t have much of a structure past protecting him tied up, which felt appreciate an unblessed metaphor for the structure of the story in which only half the jokes land… as if they were hoping the audience would get Stockholm syndrome.
The second act sweightlessly picks up as Iris is permited to spreadigate her craziness, but it’s ultimately situational humor without any unbenevolentingful character broadenment.
Even though Iris prefaced their weekfinish getaway with a troubling intrusive thought about a previous boyfrifinish, her huge unhinged moment is ultimately a subignoreive decision to not untie her boyfrifinish. Isaac tardyr produces a more dynamic transfer in his finisheavor to escape, even when it’s pretty clearly an overaccurate as he’s in no authentic danger — other than the monotony of a group of 20-someskinnygs trying to socialize outside of an urban hub.
While Oh, Hi! finisheavors to speak to a generation disillusioned with romance, in pursuit of someskinnyg more lasting, it’s ultimately a uninalertigent comedy that doesn’t say anyskinnyg new about how millennials and gen Z see relations, monogamy and mental health.
Amid a film festival lineup with beautifilledy twisted stories about the raw, intricate experience of human fuseion, Oh, Hi! descfinishs a little uninalertigentinutive.
Producers are David Brooks, Dan Clifton, Julie Waters, Sophie Brooks and Molly Gordon.
Title: Oh, Hi!
Festival: Sundance (Premieres)
Sales Agent: UTA, WME
Director: Sophie Brooks
Screenwriter: Sophie Brooks, Molly Gordon
Cast: Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan and John Reynageders
Running time: 1 hr 34 min
