Relationships are strange. It could be happiness one minute and agony the next.
We first see Isaac (Logan Lerman) and Iris (Molly Gordon), a young couple, in the new film “Oh, Hi,” as their relationship transitions from endearing to unstable.
In the car, Isaac and Molly are singing the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton hit song “Islands in the Stream” as they head out on a romantic weekend getaway. They have nothing but puppy love looks and sweet nothings for each other as they make their way to a dreamy cottage on a storybook creek, stopping at a farm stand along the way.
Once they’re alone in the house and find a pair of handcuffs—and much more—the romance transforms from innocent to sultry. They make the decision to use them, but while Isaac’s wrists and feet are tied to the bed, things take a turn. Molly, who has the key to the cuffs, is not prepared to hear what he has to say.
His words, “I think you’re great,” “I’m just not really looking for a relationship right now.” He continues.
Iris finds it difficult to comprehend and accept this, so she uses her uncontrollable charm, a reenactment of a middle school dance performance to Mario’s Let Me Love Youshe, and witchcraft to try to persuade Isaac that he simply lacks self-awareness.
The actor Logan Lerman, who plays Isaac, told NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe that the Sophie Brooks-directed project appealed to him because of a particular performing challenge.
“My first thoughts were that it was incredibly well written alongside the question of how do you do this?,” Lerman relates. “How do you carry it out? When a large portion of the movie is set in one spot and then in a bedroom, how do you keep it interesting? And since I’m essentially nude and confined to a bed the entire time, you can’t move as an actor. And over the months we spent making this film, it was fascinating to investigate such questions.”
The dangers of contemporary dating and archetypes
The film explores two major personality types that you could encounter on various dating apps: the “soft-boy” and the “crazy girlfriend.”
The former, according to Molly Gordon, is a new plague of sorts.
“You’ve seen him everywhere, in plain sight, on the streets. A soft boy doesn’t genuinely want to be in a relationship, but he wants all the warmth and closeness that come with it. And initially, you believe that they are looking for something more profound. “They [really] don’t,” Gordon adds, “but they want emotional intimacy.”
They want to bring you to a place where you both feel completely at ease, but since they don’t want to be in a relationship, they don’t want to take responsibility for your feelings. We’ve all, like, lost the ability to truly speak with each other, I guess just from social media and apps and all these things,” she continues, “which is perhaps why there’s a real pandemic of them in the globe right now.”
“There are soft girls, by the way everyone can be this way,” she continues. However, I believe that people are afraid to express their true desires. You then encounter circumstances where you believe you have been deceived, but this is simply a result of individuals being afraid to have those initial conversations.”
It is important for Gordon to clarify that “Oh, Hi” is not a “takedown of gender.”
Logan Lerman also told NPR that a “soft boy” is created, not born.
Lerman asserts, “It starts with the parents,” In addition to filling in those gaps, I was able to relate to Isaac and the people I’ve dated in the past when things didn’t work out. Sometimes, even when something was fantastic, it doesn’t work out in their minds. Additionally, Isaac needs to improve himself.
Lerman claims that while portraying Isaac, who comes across as emotionally aloof, he really shares more traits with his co-star’s character than with his own.
“I’ve been a few steps away from pulling some Iris s**t in my daily life and I say a few steps because I’ve embarrassed myself going out there like putting my heart on the line and just being so honest and straightforward,” Lerman asserts.
Despite the fact that emotionality is not exclusive to any one gender, the stereotype of the “crazy girlfriend” is problematic due to its widespread and unjust application; for example, consider Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction.” It has mostly been barely veiled misogyny throughout the history of cinema.
“Oh, Hi’s” handling of this cliché is intended to be as subtle as it is uncomfortable, according to Molly Gordon, who also produced the movie.
“The phrase ‘are women crazy or are they driven mad?’ is one that I adore. I find it frustrating when emotions are suppressed and when misunderstandings occur. Gordon adds, “And it turns you into the worst version of yourself.”
“Finding friends, lovers, or anyone else you connect with is really difficult. When you discover it, you will stop at nothing to keep it safe. Although I disagree with her [Iris’] decisions, I believe there have been occasions in my life when I’ve begged someone to talk to me or stay. Additionally, I most likely came across as utterly [sic] insane. We’re all a little bit insane, by the way.”
Rom-com? Or Rom-horror?
As much as “Oh, Hi” experiments with character tropes, it also experiments with genre. Intimate close-ups of our characters’ flushed faces in the summer sun and expansive aerial views of the stunning countryside are used at the beginning of the movie to immerse the viewer in a romantic comedy.
However, as the romance deteriorates and day gives way to night, we witness light giving way to shadow and the close-ups of contented faces becoming tense and contorted as the camera focuses on a knife and characters begin a black magic ritual and consider using violence to prevent Isaac from eventually telling the police about his unplanned detention. It’s also impossible to deny the callback to one of the most recognizable and unsettling adaptations of Stephen King’s work 1990’s “Misery” starring James Caan and Kathy Bates.
However, the actors claim that you will have to see the movie to see if there is any hobbling.
“One of the most compelling things about this project to me was just that it had something to add to the genre,” said Logan Lerman. “I really adore romantic comedies, and I’ve watched a lot of them. It’s cool that they feel so repetitious. There are moments when you desire something familiar. However, this made it more interesting. Additionally, it’s more of a rom-com gone awry, as I’ve been explaining to folks, which is sort of thrilling.”
And Molly Gordon says the line between horror and romance is a lot thinner these days than anyone is willing to admit. One miscommunication is all it takes to go from deeply in love to utterly insane.
“You’re in a relationship and it’s going really well. But then you get into a fight and suddenly it gets so dark. Like you get home from the movies. It’s been a great night. And then suddenly it’s like, something’s been said. Look, there’s been a misunderstanding, and your relationship has become a horror film,” Gordon says. “We’re all just raised by different people coming together to try to connect. And it’s hard sometimes. So you want to find humor in that and make people feel seen.”
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