“Oh, Hi” screenwriters Molly Gordon and Sophie Brooks believe their new romantic comedy takes aim at modern dating culture without being a full-out “takedown” of men.
“This movie is about a miscommunication between men and women that we all have, and it’s from a female perspective, from Soph and my perspectives, but it’s not a takedown of guys,” Gordon told TheWrap’s executive editor Adam Chitwood during TheWrap’s Sundance Studio presented by World of Hyatt. “We really wanted it to feel equally weighted.”
“Oh, Hi,” which is nod to the small but well-known California city, is centered on a newly married couple who go on a weekend road trip that doesn’t go as they planned. And ironically, “Oh, Hi,” which the creators said spawned from the idea of beginning new relationships, was initially supposed to take place in Ojai, but Gordon and Brooks moved it to New York to save money.
“Originally, it was set in Ojai, California, and it was kind of a play on it being set there and also the idea when you enter a new relationship,” Brooks explained. “Like, you’re introducing yourself and there’s a little nerves to it … Our characters say it a few times in the film, ‘Oh, hi,’ this consciousness but also hopefulness. So originally it was playing with that and set there, and then we moved it to upstate New York for tax credit reasons. Shout out to New York, we love New York. And there’s a real place that Molly discovered called Jay Falls in upstate New York, and so we have a play on it being, Iris, Molly’s character, thinks it’s Ojai Falls in the film.”
The heart of the movie’s story came about after Gordon and Brooks got theirs broken, as the two experienced breakups during the COVID shutdown.
“We were both very depressed and had both recently been dumped and we had been bonding over our shared heartbreak, and Soph came to me and went, ‘Hey, I have this idea,’ and I immediately freaked out and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, wait, I want to do that with you,’” Gordon said.”So we spent this weekend together developing it into what is ‘Oh, Hi.’ Then Sophie went away and wrote it and then it took five years and now we’re here.”
“Oh, Hi” had it’s world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 26.
“I hope primarily that people just feel seen and relate to it and that they’re entertained,” Brooks said of the project. “We’re trying to comment on dating culture, but also just have it be a fun movie and not making anyone feel like they’re being preached to by any means. But I think if the takeaway is be honest in relationships and you shouldn’t have to convince anyone to love you, that would be nice. I would like for people to feel that.”
Gordon jokingly added that “Oh, Hi” serves as “wish fulfillment” for her character Claire, who has a tumultuous romantic relationship with Jeremy Allen White’s character on “The Bear.”
“Working with Jeremy on ‘The Bear’ has been such a beautiful experience and I feel like this feels like wish fulfillment for Claire to get to, like, be like, ‘Let’s have a conversation, Carmy,’” Gordona said in jest. “And so this movie is … I just want to say it’s part of ‘The Bear’ extended universe. Chris [Storer], the creator, definitely knows that. I just wanted him to be aware that it’s a part of the universe.”
Watch Gordon and Brooks’ full interview with TheWrap in the video above.
