Molly Gordon Says ‘Oh, Hi!’ Was “Very Inspired by Kathy Bates’ Freedom” in ‘Misery’

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After debuting Oh, Hi! at Sundance earlier this year, Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman brought their dark romantic comedy to Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The film — which Gordon produced and helped develop the story for alongside writer-director Sophie Brooks — follows a couple on their first romantic getaway, when upon arrival Lerman’s character Isaac says he’s not ready for a serious relationship and Gordon’s character Iris goes to great lengths to convince him otherwise.

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“Honestly, some men were a little mean to Sophie and I and then we just wanted to write a story about it,” Gordon joked at the L.A. premiere of the film’s origins. The project has drawn frequent comparisons to 1990’s Misery, starring Kathy Bates and James Caan, for its similarities in women holding a man they are obsessed with hostage.

Of those comparisons, Gordon explains, “We bow down to Stephen King; this is totally its own thing, but I think we’re so inspired by the idea of like obsession and the humor in horror. Though this isn’t a horror movie and she doesn’t physically hurt anyone, [we were] very inspired by Kathy Bates’ freedom in that movie.” The actress also points to Nora Ephron as another influence when it came to exploring some of the film’s more rom-com elements.

Lerman added, “Misery is like one of my top 10 favorite movies ever — it’s a perfect movie, I watch it every year. But it isn’t Misery, it’s its own movie; it takes a left turn and has something to say but it’s very different from that. But there’s obvious inspiration.”

Lerman — who is soon appearing on the next season of Only Murders in the Building — also recalled that when he first read the script, “I just thought it was brilliant. I was like, ‘This needs to be made, this is a movie I actually want to see in theaters,’ and I was just grateful that it came my way. And grateful for financiers to take a chance on this little independent film.”

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Oh, Hi! hits theaters on July 25.

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