“Life Can Sometimes Feel Like A Horror Movie”: Logan Lerman & Molly Gordon Break Down Their Genre-Bending Sundance Rom-Com

Molly Gordon is once again wearing multiple hats for her genre-bending romantic comedy Oh, Hi!, which recently premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The movie marks Gordon’s second feature-length effort behind the camera following the widespread acclaim for her mockumentary comedy movie Theater Camp. With Oh, Hi!, Gordon teams up with longtime friend Sophie Brooks, co-developing the story with her and starring in the film, while Brooks, who also pulled from her own life, wrote and directed the тιтle.

Oh, Hi! revolves around Iris and Isaac, an opposites-attract married couple who embark on their first romantic weekend road trip together, though through a series of miscommunications, mismatched expectations and unhinged actions, find their relationship quickly unraveling. Alongside Gordon, who stars as Iris, the ensemble Oh, Hi! cast includes We Were the Lucky Ones‘ Logan Lerman as Isaac, Thunderbolts*‘s Geraldine Viswanathan and Yellowjackets‘ John P. Reynolds, all of whom found themselves drawn to support their friends in making the film.

As part of the movie’s Sundance Film Festival premiere, ScreenRant interviewed Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan and John P. Reynolds to discuss Oh, Hi!. Gordon reflected on how she and Brooks pulled from their lives to develop a movie that not only stayed true to their experiences, but also toyed with genre expectations, while Lerman, Viswanathan and Reynolds all shared insight on why they wanted to star in the film. Lerman also shared why he’s excited about the future of the Percy Jackson TV show, and Viswanathan quelled Marvel fans’ fears about Thunderbolts*.

Oh, Hi!‘s Genre Blending Comes From The Reality Of Life

“…life can sometimes feel like a horror movie…”

While details being shared with the public are being kept sparse for the time being, all of the cast have teased that Oh, Hi! will feature a few genre twists apart from its rom-com basis. In looking at this genre balance, and how it was influenced by her own life, Gordon explained that she and Brooks “wanted to just play with the reality of that“, but would only change the tone “when it feels really earned“:

Molly Gordon: I think life can sometimes feel like a horror movie, like a conversation with your family or your partner. And I think we wanted to just play with the reality of that, and having the tone switch only when it feels really earned. So it’s not like this insane genre-blending movie, it’s just that sometimes being in a miscommunication can feel like, “Oh my god, we’re suddenly in a murder scene.” It can just get so f—ng crazy, and I think that was really fun to play with.

In looking at Iris and Isaac’s dynamic in the film, namely the miscommunication teased by both her and the plot synopsis, Gordon recalls that “many men didn’t want to be a part of it“, subsequently praising Lerman for not only being willing to go to the vulnerable places required of his character, but also for trusting her and Brooks with the story they wanted to tell:

Molly Gordon: This movie took five years to get made, and many men didn’t want to be a part of it, because you’ll see in the film, he’s very vulnerable in it. And I am really impressed with him, that he was down to go there with us. And I think that is what a king is and what a strong man is. [Chuckles] But he’s so curious and kind, and he was just such a good partner, and so there with me, and he has lots of Sєx and all this stuff, and we just were really good friends and good buddies.

Looking beyond the film, Gordon was asked about any updates she could share for The Bear season 4, particularly after season 3 left Claire and Carmy’s relationship still in a heartbreak limbo after his freezer meltdown in the season 2 finale. Though she wouldn’t share anything concrete, Gordon did express it’s “going to be really fun” when the show returns in June:

Molly Gordon: It’s going to be really fun to all see this year when it comes out!

Lerman Really Tried To “Play The Truth” Of Oh, Hi!, Regardless Of A Scene’s Tone

He’s Also Very Thrilled For Disney+’s Percy Jackson Cast To Do Something He Didn’t Get To Do

Logan Lerman as Addy talking to Joey King's Halina in We Were the Lucky Ones

With the movie largely exploring Iris and Isaac as their relationship becomes threatened by a number of miscommunications, this required Lerman to find a unique rapport with Gordon. Luckily for the two stars, Lerman recalls them being “good friends“, and noted that the two share a very similar approach to their acting, namely that they “work our as–es off“:

Logan Lerman: Oh, Molly’s the best, and we’re good friends, and I think like-minded in our approach. We like to prep and work our as–s off. We’re not lazy, we just had a really good time, and because of that, we’re able to just enjoy the experience and laugh a lot and embarrᴀss ourselves and just have fun exploring this great material.

As for the movie’s genre blending, Lerman is certainly no stranger to a project shifting genres throughout their story, whether it’s the biographical drama Shirley progressing into a psychological thriller, or the Prime Video show Hunters oscillating between a black comedy and conspiracy thriller. For Oh, Hi!‘s less romantic scenes, Lerman approached them the same way he did the rest of the film, finding it easier to “play the truth” of a scene and the character while leaving the tone in Brooks’ hands:

Logan Lerman: For me, it’s all just about the scene, the script, and finding the truth of it, and exploring what you can within the confines of what feels truthful. So, I’m not really thinking about the tone. I feel like that’s Sophie’s job. It’s the director’s job to rein me into her vision. But no, I just try to play the truth with it, and try to understand the character the best that I can, so that the decisions I’m making for him are in line with who I think he is, as a person. So I try to do the psychological backwork, understand his relationship with his parents and how it affects the scenes and stuff like that. I think all the characters [have a lot of layers]. They’re all really interesting, and just so well-written.

For some, the Percy Jackson movies still remain Lerman’s most-recognized role, with the star even acknowledging “people still just want to ask about it“, though ᴀssuring it’s “a nice thing to ask about“. When asked about his comments from a year prior, in which he had not yet watched the show, Lerman said he’s still been unable to watch Disney+’s Percy Jackson in its entirety, but praised what he has seen thus far and expressed his excitement the new cast will be able to do something he and his co-stars didn’t get to in the films:

Logan Lerman: People ask me about it all the time. I’ve been getting questions already, like with our press yesterday, too. It’s all good, I don’t mind. It’s a nice thing to ask about. People still just want to ask about it. I’ve seen a little bit of it, but I haven’t seen it in its entirety. I really liked what I saw, and I’ve spent some time with some of the actors. I’ve just met them out and about, like, maybe at a Disney party, because I had a show that was on Disney last year, and we became friendly.

They’re just such sweet kids, and they’re so pᴀssionate about the material, and it seems like they’re doing a fantastic job, and I just really like that. So yeah, it’s nice to see that this thing’s come back around, but it makes you feel old when you’ve done something, and it’s being remade already. It’s a wake-up call, I guess I’m not a kid anymore. [Chuckles] Yeah, I guess time has flown by. But no, I think it’s what the fans deserve, because we never got to finish it.

And I’m excited for the rest of their journey, but I’m also just, every time I see them, always trying to give them advice. My advice is just to enjoy the experience, because it can be stressful when you’re young and it’s new. It’s such a cool ride, and enjoy the process of it as much as you can. These kids are really pᴀssionate and sweet.

Brooks Unlocked Viswanathan’s “Inner Witch” While Making Oh, Hi!

She Also Has Some Important Things To Say To Those Worried About Thunderbolts*

Geraldine Viswanathan as Rachel Bhargava in Bad Education

While others have teased that the movie jumps between some genres, Viswanathan feels that Oh, Hi! “ultimately is a comedy, and it is a rom-com“, which allowed her and the rest of the film’s cast to do things like “improvise” while also just getting to hang out with friends, as many of the group knew each other before they even began shooting the movie:

Geraldine Viswanathan: Yeah, I think there’s some tense elements in the film. It takes some spooky turns, but ultimately, it is a comedy and it is a rom-com. So, I think we really got to just bring our comedic selves and improvise. It was such a fun process, and yeah, I just got to play with friends.

Viswanathan has worked with a wide range of filmmakers across her career, with everyone from Kay Cannon in Blockers to Susanna Fogel in Cat Person and Ethan Coen on Drive-Away Dolls. When asked about how her experience with Brooks as a director compared to her prior films, the star expressed the feeling that “Sophie unlocked my kind of inner witch“, celebrating the writer/director for letting her “bring her out“:

Geraldine Viswanathan: That’s a great question. I think Sophie unlocked my kind of inner witch. I definitely have an inner witch already, and I think she really just encouraged me to kind of bring her out and share her with the world.

On the horizon, Viswanathan also has the release of Thunderbolts*, but while any new Marvel Cinematic Universe тιтle would have once created instant anticipation, the mixed responses to many recent releases, along with some behind-the-scenes changes, have left some concerned about the film. Viswanathan ᴀssures, however, that “Thunderbolts* is unlike anything you’ve ever seen“ in the MCU and praised director Jake Schreier for his unique approach to the franchise’s characters:

Geraldine Viswanathan: Ooh, I think Thunderbolts* is unlike anything you’ve ever seen in the Marvel Universe. I think it’s a completely fresh take. I think Jake Schreier is a genius and has really brought his style and sensibility to the universe. And the performances are unbelievable. It’s also really funny.

Reynolds Hopes Audiences Find Oh, Hi! To Be “Cozy”

He Also Promises That Viewers Will Leave The Film Feeling “Complete”

While already in attendance for the premiere of his film, this year’s Sundance brought Reynolds the unique opportunity to reunite with many of his prior collaborators as they celebrated their own new releases, including Alia Shawkat’s Atropia and Juliette Lewis’ By Design. Though he had yet to catch up with any of them at the time of the interview, Reynolds loved that Sundance offers the possibility to have that sense of community with his fellow artists:

John Reynolds: Not with Alia, nor any Yellowjackets cast, actually, but other people that I worked with. Yeah, it’s nice. It feels more comfortable than the first time here, and it’s nice to see friends, and you feel like you’re in a community of artists.

While Sundance is often a celebration of independent film, it has also been the home for some grand-scale projects, with one of this year’s biggest being the Jennifer Lopez-starring Kiss of the Spider Woman adaptation. When asked about Oh, Hi!‘s scale in its comedy and story, Reynolds acknowledged that it’s “very much an indie film“, noting that the movie’s bigger scale comes from Brooks’ stylish direction:

John Reynolds: Yeah, I think on the surface, if you looked at it, it is very much an indie film. We went upstate, and it’s a low budget. I think when it feels big in scale, it’s just in the execution with what Sophie did with the design, and the way she cut it. And also, there are really talented actors in it, top to bottom. So yeah, and I think what I love about it, and sometimes in indie films, people leave the films unanswered, but in this one, you get answers, and it’s nice. It feels complete.

Expounding on his experience of working with Brooks, Reynolds praised the director for giving him and his co-stars “a lot of freedom” to not only find the characters, but also the tone and rhythm of any given scene, as she is “very comfortable in herself and in the process” of capturing what she envisioned for the film as a whole:

John Reynolds: I think she just gives you a lot of freedom to find it yourself, and she’s very supportive, and you’re not worried about her at all. She was very comfortable in herself and in the process, so it allowed me to just do my thing and explore the character. And sometimes, you come to her like, “Hey, let me know if it’s too big”, and she said, “I will!” And that’s good. [Laughs]

In diving into the film’s themes, and what he hopes audiences take away from its story, Reynolds actually looks to the brighter side of Oh, Hi!, expressing his “hope it’s cozy“ and recalling the “warm” feeling he and his wife had after they screened the film together prior to coming to Sundance:

John Reynolds: Yeah, I hope it’s cozy. It was a very warm watch for me and my wife, and I think that my favorite part is that the two leads come to a mutual understanding in the end. And I hope that people feel warmth when they leave.

Check out more Sundance 2025 interview coverage here, including: