Despite its popularity in the ’90s, the rom-com seems to have fallen out of favour after the turn of the millennium, as box-office results for films slowly dwindled. But with the rise of streaming services, Netflix has found some success reviving the genre, with hits including To All the Boys I Loved Before (2018), The Kissing Booth (2018), and Set It Up (2018). So it’s no surprise that Prime Video has tapped into that with The Love Hypothesis, starring Lili Reinhart (Riverdale, Forbidden Fruits) and Tom Bateman (Da Vinci’s Demons, Murder on the Orient Express).
Adapted from the novel of the same name by Ali Hazelwood, and directed by Claire Scanlon from a script by Sarah Rothschild, the film follows a university professor, Dr. Adam Carlsen (Bateman), who begins a fake relationship with PhD student Olive (Reinhart) in order to secure a grant. Olive agrees to the ruse so that her friends don’t feel guilty about dating each other and leaving her on her own. On the surface, The Love Hypothesis is a harmless addition to the rom-com canon. It won’t make any top 10 end-of-year lists, but it’s harmless fun. That said, with a good cast and a decent premise, it’s a shame that it doesn’t try anything to stand out in an already saturated market.
Reinhart does her best as Olive, which is unsurprising, as she’s generally a bright spot in shows like Riverdale, while also showcasing her range in critically acclaimed features such as Hustlers (2019) and Forbidden Fruits (2026). Tom Bateman is also convincing as a professor known for failing for his students, and he opens up as the story progresses. But, as is often the case with rom-coms that don’t quite make the grade, the couple’s chemistry does not feel earned. The entire story revolves around them being in a fake relationship in order to trick faculty members and students, yet even when they become a real couple (not a spoiler…it’s a rom-com), it does not feel real.
Films in this genre follow very similar tropes and plot points, where two unlikely people somehow find each other and live happily ever after, despite the obstacles–big and little–that divide them throughout. So of course, The Love Hypothesis has small conflicts lobbed in the couple’s way, as the professor’s reputation as a hard-ass begins to affect his goal of receiving a grant. But even with Reinhart’s possibly conflicting aim of finishing her PhD, there is very little actual tension between the two, which is a staple in the genre. Beyond other students and faculty giving them dirty looks when they are seen together, there is nothing in the way of them fake dating, only their desire to do so.
The Love Hypothesis does exactly what you think it would: pairing two attractive actors in a movie where they seem like complete opposites. After they get to know each other more, they realize they are not so different and are really just misunderstood by others and each other. It is not the first rom-com to plot that journey, nor will it be the last. But with decent performances from both Reinhart and Bateman, and despite the lacklustre chemistry, it’s an easy enough watch on a night when there is nothing else notable to watch. And that’s not always a bad thing, especially as we move into colder weather and increased cozy couch time.
The Love Hypothesis is now streaming on Prime Video.
