I’m a fan of rom-coms. Lately, there haven’t been a lot of great rom-coms. Most comedies tend to use vulgar language and toilet humor to get their story across to audiences. Romantic films usually don’t do that sort of thing. So the good rom-com seemed like a bygone era. In recent years, there have been a few good rom-coms here or there, but nothing like back in the 80s & 90s. The new film Oh, Hi! is the latest one that I’ve seen, and it has a different type of vibe than most in the past. I’m sure not too many people will relate with this movie, but it’s pretty funny nonetheless. 

Isaac (Logan Lerman) and Iris (Molly Gordon) leave their usual surroundings of hometown to go on a bit of a getaway.  They go to the country to a little town with a quaint country home adjacent to a nice little pond they can swim at. This seemingly happy young couple started out having fun, going for a swim and eating strawberries. Everything seemed too good to last, and it doesn’t. Once the pair decide to indulge in their sexual urges and explore their relationship with doing some bondage. This was fine at first, but it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. It was supposed to spice up their relationship, but it ended up questioning it instead.

Lerman and Gordon had good chemistry as this young couple on the verse of a bigger part in each other’s lives. This is where the comedy part of romantic comedy comes in. A turn in the story happens where it puts Gordon in the driver’s seat regarding the heavy lifting of the main plot. She had to carry the bulk of the story after the first act. She even brings in a friend and her boyfriend to help her out. That’s where Geraldine Viswanathan and John Reynolds come in. They add to the comedic sensibilities of the movie. When they all started interacting with each other, that’s when things got funny. Their banter was pretty good together. This is when the story takes another turn that was quite strange. I don’t think anybody could have predicted this story.

Logan Lerman has had a decent career so far. He’s done Westerns, your adult films, and now a genuine rom-com. He started out not showing his cards in the overall plot, but eventually, his comedic chops had to be seen by all. He played it up the best he could, considering the bad situation his character was in. He could have fallen short regarding where his character was going in the story, but he didn’t. He kept a straight face even though it was a very funny scenario he was in. This might be the beginning of a new era for his career. There are so many new things he can do if he can indeed do comedy moving forward. 

Gordon has done her fair share of comedic roles in the past, but none like this one. She, like Lerman, starts out as a straightforward character, but then she plays into the craziness of what her character gets involved in. She is having a lot of fun doing what her character and the story demands of her. In lesser hands, this story, on the whole, could be quite ridiculous. She and Lerman make for a great couple. I honestly believed these two were a loving couple. They made me believe that. Gorgon had me at go. She’s that much of a professional actress in that regard. 

Most of the film takes place in the country house. So that house had to be filmed from every angle possible. Inside the bedroom, the kitchen, outside the house, were all used to perfection by the cinematographer and the director Sophie Brooks. She had every inch of this structure mapped out. I love it when a location like this can be used as a character in the film. The house is even a key part of the marketing. The poster is a bit obvious, though. They aren’t hiding anything with that marketing. All the marketing and the location played into the overall story perfectly.

Oh, Hi!, not the town of California, but this quirky rom-com had a few twists and turns. It didn’t take itself seriously, and neither did the actors who played the characters. They had a blast playing these two people. This is a relationship I myself definitely wouldn’t be a part of,  hopefully in my own life, but you never know. This was a genuinely weird scenario for any man to be a part of. I don’t know if Brooks and / or Gordon had bad luck with men or had a bad breakup or whatever,  but they sure had it out for this man in this movie. I know it’s fictional, but it sure had some juice behind it. I’m sure a lot of men who watch this film will not be happy with the treatment of this character. It was all pretty funny as far as I was concerned. This movie works because of the humor.

3 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen