One of the most unique 2025 movie releases I’ve seen this year has to be Oh, Hi! starring internet boyfriend Logan Lerman and The Bear’s Molly Gordon. The independent film from writer/director Sophie Brooks follows a couple, Isaac and Iris, as they go on a remote romantic getaway together. However, while they engage in some sexual bondage play, and Lerman’s Isaac gets handcuffed to the bed, a frustrating truth comes out about their relationship and Iris decides to leave him tied up until he tells her what she wants to hear.
The dark comedy, also co-written by Molly Gordon, works as a rather brilliant take on relationships in this day and age, especially as Iris learns that what she thought was a promising beginning to a long coupling was actually not Isaac’s intention the whole time. One element of the movie that really stuck with me is the use of referencing 1943’s Best Picture winner, Casablanca, throughout the film. WARNING: I’ll be getting into SPOILERS ahead.
a heartbreaking movie like Casablanca is certainly telling.
At the same time, as Brooks mentioned, just because two characters don’t end up together at the end doesn’t mean a movie cannot be romantic or be its own kind of love story. Having Casablanca as a reference really helped me as a viewer understand that aspect of the film. Because yes, while not every love story is healthy or long-standing, if it made you feel something, it means something to you. We all have those short-lived romances, that weren’t right for us, but taught us something about love and ourselves, and that’s Oh, Hi!