Out of almost every bad break up between a man and a woman, a singular narrative arises: he was a jerk, and she was crazy. “Oh, Hi!,” the sophomore feature from filmmaker Sophie Brooks, posits: What if that were true?
Iris (Molly Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman) have been seeing each other for a few months when they decide to go on a romantic weekend getaway. After a perfect first day and some kinky sex that involves Isaac tied to the bed, the night starts to deteriorate after Iris off-handedly mentions how nice their first trip as a couple is going. Isaac visibly stiffens.
“I think you’re great,” he says. “I’m just not really looking for a relationship right now.” This prompts an argument that ends with Iris storming out, leaving Isaac tied to the bed. And she’s not going to untie him for a really, really long time.
“Oh, Hi!” plays into the crazy girlfriend trope, turning Iris into a manic pixie nightmare as she tries to convince Isaac to overcome his fear of commitment (which quickly evolves into a fear of her). It would be dishonest to say that “Oh, Hi!” doesn’t have its moments – it’s made by funny people who have modern comedic sensibilities. Despite that, its attempts at satire are uneven at best, making for a hollow take on gender roles and the rules of contemporary dating.
After the reveal that Isaac has no intention of ever using the word “girlfriend” when it comes to her, Iris spends the night in a downward spiral over her inability to make Isaac want to be her boyfriend. She eventually happens upon a love guru who convinces her that she just has to show Isaac who she really is. Not the Iris she’s been pretending to be for the past few months – the Iris that’s designed to attract the other sex – but the real Iris.
With this sequence, and Iris’ subsequent descent into madness, you can feel Brooks trying to comment on the restrictive nature of heteronormative relationships, particularly when it comes to romantic comedies. For a movie coming out in 2025, however, it all feels thoroughly dated – in particular, the online listicles Iris finds claiming to be able to help her figure out “how to make him stay” feel ripped right out of 2000s magazine culture. And, for as much as it’s an interesting task to explore how men and women are pigeon-holed into certain roles in relationships (and breakups), Iris engages with that role in a way that restricts the thematic opportunities of the film.
Iris has no problem leaning into her crazy side, and – for as much as Gordon’s gleeful portrayal of a woman-scorned-gone-mad is a lot of fun – that characterization feels out of balance with Isaac. Where nuance exists in one, the other may be funny, but comes off reductive. If “Oh, Hi!” is trying to literalize the roles that men and women find themselves stuck in post break-up, it doesn’t play into each of those stereotypes equally – the crazy far outweighs the jerk.
To Iris’ credit, Isaac isn’t completely innocent here. He spends the first section of the film acting a hell of a lot like a boyfriend (he cooks her scallops for dinner, and really, who does that if you’re not in it for the long haul?). But, he also openly flirts with a fruitstand owner on the side of the road. He talks to his mom on the phone, and then refuses to tell Iris what all they spoke about. And, perhaps most importantly, he seems to be under the impression that Iris and he are on the same page – his reaction to her use of the word “couple” is immediate, seemingly genuine, surprise.
Up until that point, Isaac isn’t really aware of the fact that he’s been leading Iris on. Could he have been a little more observant? Sure. But that character’s setup – an admittedly commitment-phobic guy who accidentally commits to a girl and has to awkwardly clear things up – is a better fit for a movie about the roles society forces us into than a girl who simply cracks. In Iris’ fever dream, she can mold the narrative to fit Isaac into the role of asshole. In Isaac’s view, Iris is simply crazy.