I spent a weekend nursing a cough and, between lozenges and sleepy pauses, put on a movie that kept surprising me. The film ‘Oh, Hi’, led by Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman, begins as a cozy portrait of a budding relationship and gradually pulls the rug out from under every romantic expectation. What started as a comforting watch while I recovered turned into one of those rare films that makes you chuckle even when the premise grows stranger.
The setup is simple but bold: a young couple on a rural escape, a few idyllic scenes of intimacy, and then an object that rewrites the evening. After swimming in a creek and cooking dinner, the couple—Iris and Gordon—discover a set of handcuffs at their Airbnb. What follows is a decision that turns flirtation into captivity, at least temporarily. The movie uses this device to ask what happens when desire, jealousy, and expectation collide.
A weekend premise that refuses to play by the rules
The film leans into the tension between charm and menace in a way that feels deliberate. Early scenes deliver familiar rom‑com rituals: singing along to the radio, stopping for fruit, and an evening lit by delicate fairy lights. Those moments are not wasted—they establish warmth and chemistry. But the discovery of the cuffs reframes the narrative: the same gestures that felt playful become eerie once one partner questions the relationship’s status. The film asks: what if an impulsive act becomes a rehearsal for control?
From rom‑com rituals to escalating dark comedy
The rom‑com toolkit
In the film’s first act, the director mines the classic rom‑com beats for both comfort and credibility. The couple’s routines—roadside strawberry runs, slow dances beneath twinkling lights, cooking in tandem—are rendered with tenderness and a wink of recognition for the audience. These sequences serve as the emotional baseline: by making you believe in the small joys, the film deepens the shock when those joys become the backdrop for something unsettling. The contrast is where much of the humor and unease lives.
The thriller twist
Midway through, tone shifts toward a darker, more chaotic space. What began as flirtation evolves into a tense, almost claustrophobic scenario in which one character doubts whether they are truly exclusive—an exclusive status that the film treats as both an emotional anchor and a flashpoint. Friends arrive to advise and assist, and their interactions feel sharply observed; they ground the absurdity with genuine, messy human conversation. The second half skirts the edges of black comedy and psychological farce, blending broad comedic beats with notes of real danger, a mixture that recalls sketch‑driven humor meeting a suspenseful novel.
Why it landed for me—and why you might laugh, too
Part of my enjoyment came from the film’s willingness to swing wildly between tones without losing its emotional logic. Even when the plot grows outrageous, the characters’ choices feel rooted in recognizable insecurity and performative bravado. I admit I watched while in a bit of a Robitussin‑induced stupor, but the laughs felt authentic: the script gives the cast room to find comic specificity in bleak circumstances. If you enjoy movies that blur genres—shifting from feel‑good to unsettling while still earning both—you’ll likely find ‘Oh, Hi’ worth a watch.
On the topic of underrated films, I often circle back to cult favorites that mix humor and oddity—like ‘So I Married an Axe Murderer’—movies that reward a second look. If you have a short, emotional film that always gets you, or a lesser‑seen feature that deserves more attention, I’d love to hear about it. And if you haven’t yet, give ‘Oh, Hi’ a try on a night when you’re in the mood for something that starts cozy and ends unpredictable.
What underrated movies do you think deserve a bigger audience? Also: what’s your top three of all time, and is there an eight‑minute short that always makes you cry? Drop your recommendations—I’m cataloging films to watch during my next quiet weekend.
