We interview Sophie Brooks, the writer and director of Oh, Hi!, on her smashing and potent spin on the modern-day romantic comedy.
At the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, we sat down to interview writer and director Sophie Brooks on her incredibly sharp sophomore film, Oh, Hi!. This movie marks Brooks’ return to Tribeca after her debut film, The Boy Downstairs, premiered at the festival back in 2017. With both of her movies centering on the complex intricacies of modern-day romance, Brooks promises this genre is one she will continue to explore further in her career, and for that, we as an audience should consider ourselves lucky.
Oh, Hi! follows Iris (Molly Gordon, of The Bear) and Isaac (Logan Lerman, of Bullet Train) as they embark on their first weekend getaway as a couple. Iris and Isaac escape New York City to explore the beautiful and bountiful upstate New York. Their trip is full of lush scenery, a playful rapport and a sense that their connection is deepening even further.
While Iris has been plagued and played by the politics of today’s dating culture, with Isaac, she thinks she has finally managed to escape the modern dating labyrinth. However, things take a turn for the worse when Isaac reveals to Iris that they are not, in fact, a couple. Confused, conflicted and only mildly crazy, Iris decides that while she and Isaac might not have gone into this weekend as a couple, she will make sure they leave as one.
Oh, Hi! is a rom-com gone wrong that expertly examines and underlines the issues with modern-day romance. In our interview with Sophie Brooks, we spoke about her love of the romantic comedy genre, the perils of modern romance and the payoff of putting yourself out there.
Oh, Hi!’s Depiction of Modern Day Dating
How did you approach accurately depicting the intricacies of modern dating in the world of romantic comedy, and reflecting on it within your film?
Sophie Brooks: I really love a classic rom-com, but when I think back to the movies I love, and some of the ones that I watched on repeat as a kid, I bump up against certain ideas that just don’t feel real anymore. There are certain romantic moments that I think are so special, but that just don’t seem to fit in the realities of modern dating.
I have done a lot of modern dating, and while parts of it are so fun and wonderful, others can make you feel a little crazy. For example, Sex and the City is one of my favorite shows ever, but that was 20 years ago, and it’s just such a different landscape now. I think the dating apps, Instagram, Facebook, and all these things have just fundamentally changed the way that we meet people.
The amount of choice you have now, because of seeing people on your screen, creates this idea that there’s always a better option, and that has kind of eroded all dating culture. I want to tell stories that feel really honest and real, but that still have this nostalgic tinge to them.
Can you talk about utilizing the confines of this hilarious and absurd plot to explore the reality of modern dating?
S.B.: The story came from a prompt that my agent gave me to come up with an idea that was contained and could be shot during COVID with limited locations and limited actors. We ended up shooting it not during COVID- we filmed it last summer – but that initial idea came to me first.
I think I’m always going to be drawn to telling stories about women and love. Those are the kind of things I’m most interested in. When I came up with the premise, which was a guy and a girl take a trip away together, he breaks up with her and she holds him captive, I was like, “Oh, that’s kind of a fun jumping off point”. Within the confines of the story and the premise, I had to be as creative as I could with the plot to keep the audience really engaged and entertained.
I’m always going to want to tell stories that feel human and explore real feelings, and hopefully do it in a way that is palatable and entertaining and funny, because my favorite stories are the ones that are saying something, but that don’t take themselves too seriously. I do love a movie that takes itself very seriously and I love deep dramas, but I think for my sensibility and my tone and my nature, this sort of balance of dealing with sincere feelings, and then also being a bit tongue in cheek, felt right for me and for the confines of the story.
In writing this film that addresses the perils and harsh realities of modern dating, do you feel like it made you confront your own trepidations about today’s dating culture?
S.B.: Oh, totally. I think being a writer is being a therapist in a lot of ways. I certainly can go on a spiral, or be the reverse and not express my feelings, because I think I’m being too much. I wanted the character [of Iris] to show that type of woman who has really good intentions, but sometimes an emotion can get the better of her, which I think is very relatable, and also very relatable to men as well. We can all let an emotion get the better of us.
Sophie Brooks on constructing the complex characters of Oh, Hi!
How did you balance showing the extreme, and at times negative, sides of both Iris and Isaac, while also leaving room for them to redeem themselves?
Sophie Brooks: I think she is crazy and he is an a**hole in moments, but they’re also both so much more than those labels that we so often minimize people to, especially in dating. I think in dating, there’s such a thing of, “Oh God, well, he’s just an a**hole, so f*ck him,” and the reality is, most people want love and connection, and have their own set of baggage that is limiting them.
For Iris, it was super important to me her arc landed with the message that you shouldn’t convince anyone to like you. If someone’s not ready, or you’re not their cup of tea, that’s fine and you can wish them well on their way.
For Isaac, Logan [Lerman] is such a deep, soulful person; he brought so much humanity to the role. It was super important to me to have him not be this bad guy, because while he f*cked her around a little, and he also did really like her and just did not handle it well. I hope that, by the end, he’s recognizing that he needs to look at himself and look at some of his behaviors as well. The most authentic version of the story shows two people who are human, who mean well, but get in their own way and hurt people sometimes.
While Iris and Isaac are both flawed, they find power in embracing their vulnerability. How do you hope that impacts what the audience is able to take away from this film?
S.B.: I guess this is more like life advice than movie-related, but I do hope that is the film’s takeaway. I try to make decisions myself, thinking, “If I’m not brave in this moment, am I going to regret not having been brave?”. I don’t want to look back in five years and go “Sh*t, I should have said the thing!”.
Even if you feel like you’re being too much or there’s a part of yourself you feel shameful about, I do think the right person is going to love you, flaws and all, as long as you are self-aware, you’re trying to get better, and you can apologize. We’re all growing. There are a million things I look back on in my 20s, and I go, “Oh, I can’t believe that,” but that’s also life, and that ability to reflect is beautiful.
Some people meet their soulmates, or whatever you want to call it, when they’re 16, and for others, it just takes a lot longer, but I think the best gift you can give yourself is to be authentic to who you are, and to be brave. Even if you get hurt, at least you gave it a shot, and you hoped for the best; you’re not going to get anything if you don’t go for it.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Oh, Hi! had its New York Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June ,14 2025 and will be released in U.S. theaters on July 25, 2025. Read our review of Oh, Hi!
Header Credits: Director Sophie Brooks attends the “Oh, Hi!” premiere during the 2025 Tribeca Festival at BMCC Theater on June 13, 2025 in New York City. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)
