Breaking Down the Unconventional Rom-Com Ending of Oh, Hi!
Molly Gordon as Iris, Logan Lerman as Isaac in Oh, Hi! Credit - Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics Warning: This post contains spoilers forOh, Hi! It's anot-so-typical love story. Boy meets girl, they go on a romantic getaway together, and have sex. But after sleeping together, Isaac (Logan Lerman) reveals to Iris (Molly Gordon) that he has no interest in pursuing a serious relationship. When Isaac tells Iris this, he's still restrained by his hands and feet (they decided to use some handcuffs they found in the closet of their holiday home). Instead of uncuffing him and ending their relationship, Iris decides to keep him tied up, choosing to turn the weekend into a last-ditch effort to make Isaac love her. In this sense,Oh, Hi!feels like a riff onMisery. But while most films would be quick to condemn Iris for her decision, Sophie Brooks' film isn't interested in having a villain, nor is it in casting judgment on its characters. This is a different kind of romantic comedy, clearly, but it's also a thoughtful interrogation on the idea of being "crazy," a word often hurled as an accusation towards women. Of course, Iris is wrong to leave Isaac restrained, but Isaac manipulated her by taking her on a romantic getaway and acting like a madly in love couple, only to suddenly retract and say he's not interested in anything serious. You might say it's enough to make someone go…crazy. Oh, Hi! is a romantic comedy about contemporary dating, but also the way expectations impact our decision-making. "Expectation and want are the makeup of every story," says Brooks, who wrote and directedOh, Hi!"Expectations are inherent to conflict, and inherent to relationships." Having Isaac and Iris be misaligned in their expectations reflectsmodern dating. We've gotten into a system where having wants and needs can be considered too much, and everyone should play it cool and act like they don't care." When working on the movie, her second feature, Brooks was inspired by Joachim Trier's 2021 filmThe Worst Person in the Worldto write a rom-com that had a twist of darkness, that stuck to the genre's conventions while making something authentic about the perils of modern dating. "I really wanted to have this female character who was unashamed of her desire for a relationship. Often in film and our culture, a man wanting love is considered romantic, and a woman wanting love is considered desperate or embarrassing. I think that's really unfair," says Brooks. "I'm leaning into the trope of the crazy woman, so she goes too far, and the moral is that you should never convince someone to be with you. But having expectations of someone you're wanting to date feels like a very normal thing to want." Trying to find a way to get out of accidentally kidnapping Isaac, Iris recruits her best friend, Max (Geraldine Viswanathan), who brings along her boyfriend, Kenny (John Reynolds). Max has a surprising solution: a Wiccan spell to clear his memory. Brooks took inspiration from her lifelonglove of witches. "For a long time in elementary school, I was convinced I was a witch and would develop powers during puberty, and I was devastated when that didn't happen," says Brooks. Max and Iris gather the ingredients and create a soup for Isaac to drink, but since he's extremely untrusting of Iris, they have Kenny (John Reynolds), Max's boyfriend, give it to him instead. For the potion to work, Iris has to bless it by chanting over an outside fire in the nude. Max stands by her, also naked, and they sway back and forth and chant together. She does it in "solidarity." It's not just a sweet moment, but a pointed exploration of women being friends in cinema. "Female friendship in movies can so often have a tinge of competitiveness or be the source of drama. There are so many frenemies," says Brooks. "To have this female friendship that is pure and supportive, and having Max be ride or die for Iris, felt really honest to me. It's what my relationship is like with my friends." That night, Isaac has a bizarre dream. In it, he's on a date with Iris at a bar, where they have an open and vulnerable conversation, and a gateway into understanding more of who Isaac is, and his hesitations on being in a relationship. Later in the dream, he finds himself at the house they're vacationing in, and heads outside to see Iris singing "Islands in the Stream"—a callback to the opening scene where they're singing it together. Things are going well, and they dance in each other's arms, but suddenly Iris says, "I hate you," and Isaac wakes up. "They really were falling for each other," says Brooks. "Unfortunately, just because two people like each other doesn't mean they're gonna figure it out or make it work." When they're dancing in the dream sequence, it's enough to make you think that if circumstances were different, these two may have had a real chance at romance. "There are so many miscommunications in the movie, and they're never on the same page, but in this dream sequence, they're completely aligned. It felt like an opportunity to see into Isaac's psyche and show that he does like her, and perhaps love her, but something is limiting him." When Isaac awakes, he puts into action his escape plan. He's still handcuffed to the bed, but he plays it cool, acting like he has no memory of the events. Iris buys it, and uncuffs him. It speaks to her blind optimism and utter belief in the power of love that she could pull off a magical spell to rid Isaac of his memory, potentially even allowing them to start over. Heading downstairs, Isaac suggests making pancakes, but the flour is in the car. Iris has a flash of concern on her face, but that dissipates almost instantly, and she gives Isaac the keys. She celebrates with Kenny and Max, but it's short-lived—Isaac races off in the car. It turns out that because of an open window, Isaac heard their plan to erase his memory. Terrified that he'll go to the police, Kenny and Max want to pursue him, but Iris believes she's doomed and ready to take responsibility, and she goes back to bed. "I wanted Iris to have that initial hope. Of course, she's going to doubt the spell worked, but her nature is hopeful, and she likes this guy, so she believes it. She wants to believe that maybe there's a path forward for them still," says Brooks. "And part of that is sad, but sometimes that's what life is. Sometimes it's sad to want something for you that isn't quite right, or even good for you." Iris is woken by a call from the police—her car, the one Isaac stole to escape, was found in a crash with nobody inside. Panicked, Iris heads into the forest to try and find Isaac, eventually discovering him wounded, lying against a fallen tree. You may expect the pair to fight, but instead they have a vulnerable conversation and apologize for the mistakes they've both made. "I just wish you were honest," Iris tells him, before sincerely apologizing for what she's done. "I think by the time Isaac's left and she's able to settle and get some sleep, she's able to take a moment. She's like 'Whoa, I'm not sure how I got here', and she does apologize for her actions, which I thought was really important," says Brooks. "I didn't want the movie to end with her thinking she'd done the right thing. She knows she's gotten out of hand and she's embarrassed. But I hope what's nice for the audience is that Isaac learns he didn't handle himself correctly. If he had been honest, they wouldn't be in this situation. When Iris says she wishes he were honest, there's a real truth there. It's an acknowledgement that yes, she did something completely unhinged, and also he got her there." At the end of the film, Isaac is carted away in an ambulance, and he and Iris have officially, permanently broken up. Iris leaves him with a fond goodbye that references her love ofCasablanca: "We'll always have O high," she says. It's a callback to a conversation they had in the first scene, where Iris jokes to Isaac about a broken sign that read "O High Falls" instead of "High Falls." But it's all completely lost on Isaac, reaffirming that these two were never truly on the same page. "It's an example of, 'Oh boy. I was chasing this man, and he is not at all ready for a relationship," Brooks says. The final shot is a close-up of Iris, who is processing a myriad of emotions before settling on a smile. It's a combination of relief, sadness, and hope. "There's relief that she's gotten out of this weekend, and he seems not to be going to the cops. Sadness that this connection she felt is over and isn't going anywhere. But there's also a slight smile and light to her eyes, and I think she knows she's going to be okay," says Brooks. As for whether or not Isaac calls the cops, Brooks has an answer for that, too: "He's happy this chapter is over, and he doesn't want a legal battle. When he's honest with himself, he can see how they got mixed up in this miscommunication. He does take personal responsibility for how he ended up in that spot. Maybe the spell worked a little, and the part that worked is that he isn't gonna go to the cops." Contact usatletters@time.com.
Breaking Down the Unconventional Rom-Com Ending of Oh, Hi! Molly Gordon as Iris, Logan Lerman as Isaac in Oh, Hi! Credit - Courtesy of Sony...
