The Love Hypothesis: Fake dating, real charm

The fake-dating trope may be one of the most overused ideas in romcoms, but somehow it still works. Ali Hazelwood's The Love Hypothesis takes the very familiar 'we're pretending to date but oops we actually like each other' formula and throws it into the world of Stanford labs, PhD students and scientists who are somehow very bad at dealing with their own feelings. 

Originally a novel, the story quickly became one of Hazelwood's most popular romances and now the big-screen adaptation brings that romcom chaos to life.

The film follows Olive Smith (Lili Reinhart), a smart and ambitious Stanford biology PhD student who tends to make some questionable decisions when she panics. When her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) refuses to pursue Olive's longtime crush because she thinks Olive still likes him, Olive decides to prove that she has moved on. Her brilliant solution? Pretend she has a boyfriend.

Except she does not have a boyfriend.So when Anh unexpectedly catches her at the lab, Olive does what any completely rational person would do she kisses the first man she sees.

That man happens to be Adam Carlsen, the famously intimidating professor everyone calls "Dr Evil".

Naturally, things get complicated very quickly.

Adam agrees to fake-date Olive, partly because he has his own reasons for needing the arrangement. What starts as a simple favour soon turns into staged dates, awkward public appearances and the two of them spending way more time together than either of them probably ever intended.

And if you have ever watched a romcom before you already know exactly what happens next.But that is not necessarily a bad thing.

The fun of The Love Hypothesis is watching Olive and Adam slowly go from two people who are basically tolerating each other to two people who are very obviously into each other but somehow still refuse to acknowledge it. They both are terrible at talking about their feelings which makes their relationship even more entertaining.

Olive is nervous, impulsive and constantly stuck inside her own head while Adam is the complete opposite. He is quiet, intimidating and has the emotional range of someone who would rather discuss a research paper than his own feelings. Together, they make a surprisingly fun pair.

What I liked most about their relationship is that the romance is not built entirely around huge declarations or big dramatic moments. A lot of it comes from the little things. Adam becoming noticeably softer around Olive. Olive slowly realising that the terrifying professor everyone avoids is actually much more complicated than his reputation suggests. The way their conversations become more comfortable as they spend more time together.

At some point, the fake relationship stops feeling like something they are doing for everyone else and starts feeling like something they are doing for themselves.And that is when the film really starts working.

The Stanford setting is also a nice change from the usual romcom setup. Instead of offices, corporate meetings and annoying co-workers, we get to see laboratories, research projects, PhD students and professors who apparently have enough personal drama to fill an entire department. Olive is not just trying to figure out her love life; she is also trying to make a name for herself as a researcher while navigating a competitive academic environment.

Of course, the film is not exactly a scientific drama. It knows when to have fun with the setting. Olive and Adam can apparently discuss complicated research without blinking, but put them in a room together and suddenly neither of them knows how to have a normal conversation.

The fun of The Love Hypothesis is watching Olive and Adam slowly go from two people who are basically tolerating each other to two people who are very obviously into each other but somehow still refuse to acknowledge it. They are both terrible at talking about their feelings, which makes their relationship even more entertaining.

Even though they are two extremely intelligent scientists but they are really terrible at figuring out their own relationship.

The friendship between Olive and Anh is another thing that works well. Olive does not start this whole mess simply because she wants a boyfriend. She does it because she does not want Anh to stop herself from pursuing someone she likes. It is impulsive and slightly ridiculous, but there is a genuine sweetness behind it.

Of course, that one decision is what lands Olive in a fake relationship with the most intimidating man on campus. So maybe her intentions were good, but her execution was surely questionable.

Where the film struggles a little is in the pacing. The romance sometimes moves faster than it should, especially considering how much of the appeal comes from the idea of these two slowly falling for each other. There are moments where you can see that something important is supposed to be happening emotionally, but the film moves on before you really get to sit with it.

This is probably where Hazelwood's book has an advantage. The novel has more room to let Olive and Adam's relationship develop gradually, giving their chemistry, individual personalities and emotional baggage more space to breathe. The film has to squeeze much of that character development into a limited runtime, so some of the slower, more satisfying parts of the romance naturally get shortened.

A few supporting characters and storylines also feel like they could have used more time. But at the same time, I can understand why the film keeps coming back to Olive and Adam. That is ultimately what people are here for. 

And honestly, The Love Hypothesis does not need to be some groundbreaking addition to the romcom genre.It is cheesy. It is predictable. Some of the dialogue is a little too romcom-y. You can see certain plot twists coming from approximately ten miles away.But it is also cute, easy to watch and actually fun. The film does not do anything new with the fake-dating trope, but honestly, it does not have to. The chemistry between Olive and Adam carries most of the film, especially when you are watching two very smart people somehow be completely clueless about their own feelings.

If you are looking for a romcom with a lot of surprises, this probably is not it. But if you want something light, cheesy and predictable that you can just sit back and enjoy, The Love Hypothesis works.