Oh, Hi (2025) Parents Guide

Oh, Hi! Is Rated R by Motion Picture Rating (MPA) for sexual content/some nudity, and language.

I went into Oh, Hi! expecting a quirky indie rom-com something cute, ironic, maybe a little messy in a charming way. But what I got was something else entirely. Something… offbeat. Unhinged, even. And strangely, I kind of loved it for that.

From the first scene Iris and Isaac singing in the car, playful and electric with new love the film invites you into a warm, intimate space. You think you know what you’re in for. But then it jerks the steering wheel and sends you off-road, right into the emotional wilderness of a relationship imploding mid-sentence. And it does so with such a mix of absurdity, heartbreak, and strange sincerity that I found myself laughing, cringing, and occasionally pausing to sit with the emotional discomfort of it all.

Oh, Hi! is not your standard relationship dramedy. It’s Palm Springs meets Misery with a dash of millennial burnout and chaotic attachment issues thrown in. Directed by Sophie Brooks and starring a brilliantly unhinged Molly Gordon opposite a low-key, soft-spoken Logan Lerman, it takes big swings — and even when it misses, it misses with flair.

The Story & What It Tries to Say

The story follows Iris (Gordon), a romantic idealist with just enough fire in her to tip over into full-blown delusion, and Isaac (Lerman), her boyfriend or at least, that’s what she assumes he is. They’ve just spent a magical week together. Sex, laughter, chemistry. So they head off on a spontaneous weekend getaway in the countryside one of those cozy cabins in Upstate New York where indie movie couples go to fall deeper in love.

But then, in a moment that feels too real to be fiction, Isaac casually drops the bomb: “I don’t really think of us as a couple.” It’s like watching a balloon pop in slow motion. Iris’s face falls, and so does the tone of the entire film.

What follows is part breakup spiral, part dark comedy, part psychological farce. Iris heartbroken, humiliated, and absolutely not ready to let go makes a decision: she handcuffs Isaac to the bed. Not maliciously. Not even violently. Just… out of pure, unprocessed panic. It’s a moment so steeped in vulnerability and delusion that it shouldn’t work. But somehow it does.

As the weekend unravels, she ropes in her best friend Max (Geraldine Viswanathan) and Max’s perpetually-stoned boyfriend Kenny (John Reynolds), turning a bad breakup into a full-blown “how-did-we-get-here” situation. There’s even a memory-erasing potion made from mushrooms and rainwater because of course there is and a naked spell-casting ritual, equal parts ridiculous and tragic.

Underneath the chaos, Oh, Hi! is about the unbearable mismatch between expectation and reality. It taps into that very real, very modern ache: how we create whole futures in our heads before the other person has even caught up. It’s about romantic misfires, about the ways we cling to fantasy when reality is too painful to face. And most of all, it’s about what it means to want someone so badly that you forget to check if they want you back.

Does it nail every emotional beat? Not always. The third act, in particular, wobbles. The “escape” sequence — Isaac breaking free, the car crash, the reconciliation — all feels a bit rushed and undercooked. But thematically? It lands. Even in its absurdity, it reflects something uncomfortable and true.

Performances & Characters

Molly Gordon is the heart of this movie, and she pours every ounce of chaotic tenderness into Iris. You believe her joy in those early scenes. You believe her heartbreak. And even when she’s doing something completely bananas like mixing up a magical potion in the middle of the woods you don’t fully turn on her. That’s a hard line to walk: playing a character who’s spiraling without turning her into a caricature. But Gordon walks it with guts and grace. You don’t condone her choices but damn, you understand them.

Logan Lerman plays Isaac with this quiet, maddening ambiguity. He’s not a villain. He’s not even trying to hurt Iris. He’s just… indecisive. Passive. The kind of guy who can fall into a relationship without realizing it, then awkwardly try to claw his way out when it gets too real. And Lerman nails that energy  soft, aloof, emotionally underdeveloped in a way that’s frustratingly believable.

Geraldine Viswanathan and John Reynolds are pitch-perfect as Max and Kenny the unwilling accomplices caught in the emotional crossfire. Max, in particular, brings this sharp, deadpan energy that cuts through the chaos. She’s the audience surrogate, the one who says what we’re all thinking. “This is insane.” And she’s right but also, isn’t love sometimes just a little insane?

Direction, Visuals & Pacing

Sophie Brooks directs Oh, Hi! with a strange, confident hand. The tone veers wildly romantic, then awkward, then dark, then farcical but there’s intention behind the chaos. Brooks doesn’t try to smooth over the emotional whiplash; she leans into it. And that choice gives the film its raw, erratic heartbeat.

Visually, the film is beautiful deceptively so. Cinematographer Conor Murphy captures that sun-dappled, golden-hour indie movie aesthetic, all mossy cabins and hazy mornings. But beneath that visual calm is emotional turbulence. The contrast is deliberate a warm filter over a slowly unraveling nightmare. It feels like something out of a fairy tale gone wrong.

The pacing, though, is where the film stumbles. The first act moves briskly, crackling with awkward charm and flirtation. But as the story veers into darker, more surreal territory, the rhythm gets a little clunky. There are moments when the script doesn’t quite know whether it’s aiming for comedy, tragedy, or satire and instead lands in a murky middle space. Still, there are sequences that stand out: the naked ritual in the woods, the tense breakfast scene, the emotional collapse as Isaac lies chained to the bed all pitch-perfect in tone and execution.

Oh, Hi (2025) Parents Guide

Sexual Content & Nudity: There’s brief nudity, typically in romantic or comedic contexts—not pornographic, but enough to earn that R stamp.

Language: Expect moderate profanity, with a handful of stronger words. It’s casual, and used in everyday exchanges fits with the adult relationship vibe of the movie.

Alcohol & Substance Use: There’s no major drug or alcohol storyline, but you’ll see casual drinking and perhaps a drink or two nothing central to the plot

Who Might It Be Suited For?

This is a movie for older teens (16–17) and adults especially those ready for a rom-com that goes off the rails. If your teen has a handle on mature conversations about consent, relationship boundaries, and the messiness of adult dating, this could spark a meaningful discussion.

But if they’re sensitive to sudden tone shifts, sexual themes, or heavy emotional scenes, you might want to watch it first or save it for later. Not a pre-teen or casual teen film.

Final Thoughts & Recommendation

Oh, Hi! is messy, chaotic, and sometimes hard to pin down but that’s what makes it interesting. It’s a film that takes a big emotional swing at something intimate and weird: the moment a love story ends before one person realizes it’s over. And it captures that ache the denial, the delusion, the desperation with a boldness that’s rare.

It won’t work for everyone. If you’re looking for a clean arc, a traditional romance, or a clear moral takeaway, you may leave frustrated. But if you’ve ever found yourself stuck between heartbreak and hope not quite ready to let go you might see something of yourself in Iris’s spiral.

This is a film for the romantically delusional, the ones who’ve been blindsided by mixed signals, the ones who’ve screamed into the void of “what are we?” and gotten a shrug in return.

My rating? 7.5 out of 10. It’s flawed, yes, but also fascinating a strange little gem with heart, humor, and a sharp edge. Watch it with someone you trust. Or don’t. You might just end up having a conversation about it.