Since time immemorial, men have devalued what women have to say by calling them crazy. We’re aware of this now, but we should also stay aware that there are times when that term legitimately applies. Take, for example, Iris (Molly Gordon), the main character of the funny and problematic Oh, Hi!, which opens this week. How insane is she? Venture further, intrepid reader, for I shall tell you.
The movie begins with her going on a romantic weekend getaway at an Airbnb in upstate New York with Isaac (Logan Lerman), the man she’s been dating for four months. He’s handsome, he reads José Saramago, he knows how to fry up scallops to that perfect consistency, and he tells her about the traumatic event from his childhood that resulted in his parents’ divorce. No wonder they decide to have some fun with the bondage gear that they find in the property owner’s closet. Unwisely, before he’s out of the chains binding his wrists and ankles to the bed, Isaac tells her that he’s not looking for a relationship. Iris snaps and exits the bedroom in tears, and when both her mother (Polly Draper) and Google tell her that men don’t know what they want, she resolves to keep him confined until he falls in love with her.
Gordon is the coruscating young comic actress who portrayed Rachel Sennott’s ex-girlfriend in Shiva Baby, the slut-shamed high-school student in Booksmart, and the singing teacher in Theater Camp, which she also co-wrote and co-directed. She’s credited as a story writer here, and she brings the angry and confused Iris to unsettling life, repeatedly telling Isaac that he’s crazy and she isn’t, muttering to herself as she tries to make him an inedible French toast breakfast, and threatening to stab him if she does set him free. Isaac is a schmuck who fears commitment, but he’s right to be scared as a prisoner in a farmhouse remote from any neighbors. He’s also right when he points out to Iris that what she’s doing is felony kidnapping, which only makes her more determined to keep him captive.
Writer-director Sophie Brooks previously did a comedy called The Boy Downstairs, which I haven’t seen, and is not related to Mel Brooks. She leaves in an ill-advised dream sequence designed to show off Gordon’s musical ability (she sings “Islands in the Stream”), but other than that, there’s very little fat in this 98-minute film, and some of the jokes land even when they’re not meant to, like when Iris starts making wisecracks while holding a bowl for Isaac to urinate in.
The small cast makes the repartee seem as well-oiled as that of a long-running stage play, Geraldine Viswanathan portrays Iris’ Wicca-practicing best friend Max, whom Iris sucks into the madness here. This Australian actress’ British accent will fool no one, but Viswanathan shows once again that she can freak out comedically with the best of them. Max also correctly pegs Isaac as a “soft boy” rather than a “fuck boy,” and her distinction between the two male types is more useful than her witchcraft. (I was unclear on the difference before I saw this movie, so thanks, Max.) As Max’s boyfriend and casual friend of Isaac’s, John Reynolds contributes his share to the chaos by blatantly acting to cover his own ass instead of helping Isaac.
Gordon also acts the living crap out of a climactic scene when Iris finally apologizes to Isaac about keeping him chained up for 40-odd hours, yet that’s not enough to balance the story. Too often, this is like Hollywood’s romantic comedies of the early ’00s and thinks Iris’ behavior is cute just because she is. To quote the famous line from Friends, she needs to wake up and smell the restraining order. If she doesn’t realize that she could use some serious help, at least she might go on in unhealthy ways that society encourages her to. Resolving that issue might have made Oh, Hi! into a truly great comedy, but there’s enough here to suggest that Brooks might just make a truly great comedy her next time out.
Oh, Hi!
Starring Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman. Written and directed by Sophie Brooks. Rated R.
