A Terrific New Molly Gordon Movie Tears Down One Of Modern TV's Most Annoying Tropes

"Oh, Hi!" starts off like a rom-com, but also like a horror movie. We meet Iris (Molly Gordon) and her boyfriend Isaac (Logan Lerman) as they spend a nice weekend up in a secluded house out of the city, and during that first day, everything seems suspiciously perfect. Indeed, Iris and Isaac seem to be getting along a little too well, and we know this wouldn't be much of a movie if nothing went wrong.

Finally, the penny drops: While Isaac is handcuffed to a bed post-coitus, he reveals that he's not ready for a relationship. Iris is baffled, because it sure seemed like she and Isaac were already in a relationship. But Isaac doesn't see it this way. Despite inviting her for a weekend getaway upstate and being romantic with her throughout the whole first act, he doesn't see Iris as his girlfriend and has zero interest in letting that happen.

After this point, the spooky monster of the movie is revealed: It's Iris, who refuses to un-cuff Isaac. Instead, she proceeds to keep him trapped in that bed until further notice, as part of a feverish plan to make him realize he loves her. It's a dynamic that's both scary and hilarious: We can empathize with how terrifying this is from Isaac's perspective, but anyone who's experienced the emotional turmoil of the modern dating landscape can sympathize with Iris' actions. Kidnapping is always wrong, but if a guy leads you on as much as Isaac does ... eh, we get the impulse.

What makes "Oh, Hi!" so delightful is how much Gordon does not hold back with her portrayal of Iris and her Annie Wilkes-esque antics straight out of "Misery." Gordon's playing a role that's twisted yet relatable. It's especially fun to see her give this performance because, well, she's recently finished her third season playing Claire on "The Bear." That character is healthier, kinder, and far more mature than Iris ever is, and she's also a thousand times less interesting.

Claire on "The Bear" is a controversial character among the show's fans, mainly because she doesn't feel like a real person. She's presented as being perfect in every way that matters, and she represents the healthy, stable life that main character Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) both longs for and is scared by. The show tries to give her little moments to indicate that she has her struggles and flaws too, but none of them stick. "The Bear" may tell us that Claire isn't perfect, but the fact remains that she's unflinchingly kind, patient, and good with people in every single scene she's in.

These are all great qualities for a real-life person to have; on TV, however, it's irritating. It might sound counter-intuitive, but if Claire behaved more like Iris, she'd probably have way more supporters in the "Bear" fandom. Instead, Claire talks and acts like someone who has already been to therapy, is emotionally self-aware, and is striving to improve herself. Meanwhile, Iris acts like someone who has never been to therapy in her life; she lets her emotions take the wheel and is largely unaware of how her behavior comes across. In other words, Iris is cinematic gold, whereas the energy in "The Bear" plummets whenever Claire's on screen. Clearly, though, that isn't Gordon's fault; it's the fault of the show's writers.

Why did "The Bear" choose that direction for Claire's character? It's part of a larger TV trend of fictional characters being way more mature than they would've been 20 years ago. A lot of viewers single out "Ted Lasso" as the poster child for this problem, which makes sense: By season 2, nearly everyone on that show was cloyingly healthy and communicative. They were all doing the work to improve themselves, and if they had a problem with another character, they would simply talk it out in a straightforward fashion and resolve the issue like adults. That's why I found the character Nate's (Nick Mohammed) villain turn in "Ted Lasso" season 2 so refreshing; it was a much-needed sour note in a show that had otherwise become nauseatingly sweet.

It's easy to see what started this trend. There are plenty of TV shows that frustrated viewers with their characters' lack of maturity. "Scrubs" drew its viewers up the wall with protagonist JD's (Zach Braff) constant flip-flopping over his on-again/off-again love interest Elliot (Sarah Chalke), just as "Friends" tested everyone's patience with the drama between leads Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). Viewers grew sick of conflicts that could've been avoided entirely if the characters talked to each other like mature adults, and TV evolved in response to that complaint. As a result, the Ross/Rachel-style sitcom storylines were replaced by those in the vein of Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) on "The Office." Hence, when a show's will-they/won't-they couple get together for the first time nowadays, they tend to stay together.

While it's nice to see characters no longer getting into reckless fights over silly misunderstandings, their maturity and likability also makes them less entertaining. Comedies are funnier when their creatives aren't afraid to make their characters unlikeable, while dramas are more compelling when the audience doesn't always need to be on the main character's side.

The best show to ever understand this was probably "The Sopranos." That series had its mobster protagonist Tony (James Gandolfini) go to therapy, but thankfully he learned nothing from it. There's even a subplot in season 5 where Tony's toxic sister Janice (Aida Turturro) starts going to anger management, but Tony — consumed by jealousy at his sister improving herself — decides to stomp all over it. It's a cruel, sad moment on the show, but it's also riveting TV.

The writers behind "The Sopranos" understood that viewers didn't want Janie to put in the work to become a better person. They wanted to see her continue feuding with one-legged Russian ladies and shoving her love interests down the stairs. Healthy Janice wouldn't have made for good TV, and viewers wouldn't have bought the transformation either. "The Sopranos" was always comfortable letting its characters be the worst, and that's an underrated part of why it's one of the best (and funniest) prestige dramas of all time.

I don't know what the plan is for Claire in "The Bear" season 5, but here's hoping the show's writers let her be a little less perfect. I don't want to see her continue to joke with others about how out-of-control Carmy's family can be; I want her to get in on the messiness herself. Gordon shouldn't be cast in thankless voice-of-reason roles. After "Oh, Hi!," she should always be allowed to be as badly-behaved as she wants.

"Oh, Hi!" is now playing in theaters.