Oh, Hi! is a new film premiering wide this weekend that initially premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Written & directed by Sophie Brooks, the film stars Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, and John Reynolds. Iris has met her perfect guy, Isaac, and is enjoying their first romantic getaway together — what could go wrong?

Much like other films that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, this seemed to be one that got high recognition. As time has gone on, however, I have seen viewers become more and more critical of the film. Based on what I was hearing, I remained positive. After watching the film, I can positively say this this film is going to create a divisive reaction. With hardly any showtimes over the weekend though with its limited release, it does make me wonder if the film knew it was going to create a divisive reaction.

One way to grab my attention with any story is through characterization. The more complex they are, the better, as they become more relatable. Every single character here is flawed in their own right. The film clearly feels inspired by modern-day dating and how one partner may want a traditional relationship, while the other expects a more open relationship with no strings attached. The problem that can come out of this is not communicating. The film’s overall message is to show how important communication is.

Molly Gordon, who co-leads along with Logan Lerman, also developed the story with the Sophie Brooks. You can tell how much Gordon cared about bringing the story to life. Gordon & Lerman arguably deliver the best performances of their career as they both fully commit to their roles. They are both flawed in their own right. While one character may be honest with what they want, the other holds back. The film takes you on a journey of these two characters getting to the point where they can be honest. The journey there is what’s going to create a divisive reaction.

I can understand why someone may or may not like this. The performances are great. There are themes that will give viewers something to think about. The film wants to be comedic even when it should be thrilling in the second act. With that comes characters making some baffling decisions that pulls you out of the relatability of these characters. When two new side characters show up, I had a hard time believing the things that they did. Instead of going down the route that they did, the film could have played it less safe and show the real repercussions of the situation.

The film does a great job at presenting forgiveness and honesty, but its themes can be quite muddled at times. I can easily see viewers getting the wrong idea that the film is trying to make women look bad, which is ironic since Molly Gordon & Sophie Brooks created this story. Sophie Brooks does a great job at pulling the right performances out of the talent and the story can be unpredictable at times. I just think the film’s story needed to go in a different direction that didn’t leave any room for misunderstanding. After all, misunderstanding is what the film is about.

The film throws into the middle of the situation, but then cuts back to the main couple first entering this town. It’s an interesting decision as we still have to play catch up with these characters. It’s easy to connect with the characters through Gordon & Lerman’s chemistry. If you’re going to go back in time though, the film should have gone back to how these characters met. That way we could see what made them like each other to begin with and compare that with where they are now in the story.

The ending helps us understand why forgiveness, transparency, and communication is important. It’s still not as conclusive it could have been. It still leaves everything too wide open, which may give viewers something to talk about afterwards, but it can still be a little frustrating when these characters wen through something quite monumental. The film could have made the time for more resolution.

Overall, Oh, Hi! is worth checking out for its performances, unpredictability, and some of its thematic messages; however, the film could have been more clear with its message and delivered more realism in the second act. Molly Gordon & Logan Lerman deliver career best performances, and I am intrigued by what Sophie Brooks does next.

VERDICT: 3/5 (Good)