When PhD student Olive Smith impulsively kisses the intimidating Professor Adam Carlsen to help her best friend, the two end up agreeing to a fake relationship that becomes increasingly difficult to maintain as a charade.
I approached *The Love Hypothesis* expecting exactly what the title suggests: a polished academic rom-com, an absurd fake-dating arrangement, an incredibly attractive professor—seemingly incapable of smiling—and enough sexual tension to constitute a laboratory hazard. And, to its credit, the film knows exactly what it is. It doesn't try to reinvent the romantic comedy; it aims to make a well-known formula work, and for the most part, it succeeds.
Director: Claire Scanlon
Writers: Ali Hazelwood, Sarah Rothschild
Stars: Lili Reinhart, Tom Bateman, Rachel Marsh
The main reason is Lili Reinhart. In the role of Olive, she tackles the difficult task of turning a character who could easily have been reduced to a bundle of genre clichés into a real person. Olive is smart and ambitious, but also awkward, anxious, and often terrible at communicating. Reinhart strikes the perfect balance. She doesn't play Olive's awkwardness as merely a collection of cute mannerisms; there is enough underlying insecurity to make her choices understandable. Her comedic timing shines, especially when Olive is forced to improvise in situations she clearly hadn't thought through.
Then there is Tom Bateman’s Adam Carlsen, who seems to have decided that being a Stanford professor requires spending most of his time looking as though someone has just insulted his doctoral thesis. The character is deliberately intimidating, and Bateman nails the role. What could have been an unbearably generic take on the "grumpy academic" transforms into something surprisingly warm once Adam’s armor begins to crack.
And, most importantly, Reinhart and Bateman have genuine chemistry. It might seem like a basic requirement for a film of this kind, but it’s surprising how many rom-coms overlook it. Their dynamic works because the attraction doesn't manifest solely through dramatic declarations. There is plenty of awkwardness, banter, and a degree of mutual irritation before the relationship settles into something more sincere. Several of their exchanges are genuinely funny, and the film shines brightest when it simply lets the interaction between the two flow naturally.
The fake-dating premise is nothing new, of course, but *The Love Hypothesis* understands that the real appeal doesn't lie in the premise itself. It’s about the gradual transition from make-believe to confronting feelings that were easier to ignore when specific rules were in place. Olive and Adam set boundaries for their arrangement, and—naturally—those boundaries lose their effectiveness as the relationship evolves. The film doesn't exactly surprise with the direction it takes; in fact, viewers will likely anticipate various plot points while waiting for the characters to catch up. However, predictability isn't necessarily a problem in a romantic comedy. What matters is whether the journey is enjoyable, and for the most part, I found it to be just that.
Claire Scanlon manages to keep the film’s tone light and accessible without making it feel entirely disposable. The academic setting gives the romance a distinct personality—a refreshing change from the usual parade of coffee shops and corporate offices—while the world of research provides Olive with an identity of her own, independent of the relationship. I particularly appreciated that the film doesn't sideline her professional ambitions once Adam enters the picture. Her career matters, and her concerns about academia are an essential part of her character, rather than just decorative background noise.
The film also benefits from Rachel Marsh’s performance as Anh. The friendship between Olive and Anh gives the story a stronger emotional foundation than the romance could have provided on its own. Olive’s initial decision to kiss Adam stems from her concern for Anh, making the premise feel somewhat less forced than it might have otherwise. The film devotes enough time to cementing their friendship, making it feel like something worth protecting rather than merely a plot device to set the story in motion.
In my opinion, the film loses some of its impact due to the story's condensation. Ali Hazelwood’s novel is built on accumulation: glances, awkward encounters, internal panic, misunderstandings, and subtle shifts in how Olive perceives Adam. A film simply doesn't have the same amount of time to linger on those moments.
This is important because the story is supposed to be about gradually falling in love. At times, the film feels like it is simply ticking boxes regarding the stages of the relationship rather than allowing us to fully experience them. I understood why Olive fell for Adam and why Adam fell for Olive; I simply didn't always have enough time to experience that transition alongside them. This becomes especially apparent when reaching the emotional climax. The film achieves its goal, but some of the build-up feels rushed. It has the necessary ingredients for a solid romantic-comedy crescendo, yet at times it seems to be watching the clock. The result is charming, even if it falls short of being truly sweeping.
Even so, it is refreshing and simple to watch a film that knows its audience and isn't ashamed of the clichés it employs. *The Love Hypothesis* approaches romance sincerely without becoming overly saccharine, manages to be funny without turning every scene into a joke, and is sexy without centering the entire plot on sex. Furthermore, it demonstrates greater self-awareness than some of the literary romance adaptations that have recently arrived on streaming platforms.
I suspect that fans of the novel will have a more complex relationship with the film. There are enough changes to make comparisons inevitable, and those expecting the movie to replicate the book's leisurely, gradual pacing will likely notice what has been lost. However, for viewers discovering Olive and Adam for the first time, the film works better on its own merits. It offers two appealing leads, good chemistry, a familiar premise, and just the right amount of emotional investment to make even the predictable parts enjoyable.
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