When The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood dropped in 2021, the internet went into a frenzy. Suddenly, romcoms were back—yearning, slow-burn and men written by women were all anyone could talk about. BookTok found itself recommending romance novels over and over again, dominating the feeds of anyone who was even remotely interested in reading. Five years later and The Love Hypothesis, has made its way onto streaming platforms with a film adaptation.
Lili Reinhart stars as Olive Smith, a brilliant and promising PhD student at Stanford studying pancreatic cancer. Her character is playful and bubbly, as reflected in her diabetes-causing coffee order. She is also a caring and sincere individual—the film acknowledges the fact that she begins fake-dating in order to help her best friend, Ahn. The man Olive chooses, however? The tall and brooding Dr. Adam Carlsen, better known on campus as Dr. Evil. Played by Tom Bateman, Adam has built himself a formidable reputation: he is harsh, blunt and at times, unforgiving. His coffee order, of course, is black with no sugar.
The two get off to a rocky start, awkwardly attempting to convince their (rightfully skeptical) friends and faculty members that they are in love. For Olive, the relationship places her in more casual settings with faculty staff. Dr. Tom Benton, a professor whose lab she is applying to work in, is Adam’s closest friend—convenient, we know. She attends a cocktail party hosted by a professor, the aftermath of which brings her and Adam even closer. On the other hand, a less stoic and formal version of Adam emerges as he interacts with Olive’s friends—faculty staff sitting on a stool in your living room drinking beer seems like an interesting experience. Yet, the movie feels like any quintessential romcom: light-hearted and cheesy goodness, lots of hand-holding and just the right touch of vulnerability. Rewarding myself with the highly-awaited flick now streaming on Prime, here are all the thoughts I had while watching The Love Hypothesis.
1. Ahn and Olive’s friendship might seem cliché at first, but it has quite a bit of depth. Besides the simple fact that Ahn is Olive’s found family, they’re also women in academia (and in STEM, no less). In a male-dominated industry, they have no choice but to look out for each other in order to succeed. They become increasingly lovable as the plot progresses, and Ahn is perhaps the most lovable character in the film.
2. The Easter egg regarding the manner in which Adam and Olive meet is a cute addition. Adam has known this entire time that they actually met two years ago, right before Olive’s interview for a place at Stanford. Meanwhile, Olive’s blurry vision prevented her from clearly seeing Adam, both literally and figuratively—until they start fake-dating.
3. The scene where Olive applies lotion to Adam’s back is reflective of contemporary romcoms and feels slightly more realistic. The 2000s gave us effortless flirting which left us with butterflies in our stomachs and unfortunately, wishing for more. This scene prompted me to think about how awkward dating can feel at times. Awkward, greasy, and often filled with second thoughts about getting intimate and vulnerable with someone else.
4. Dr. Tom Benton putting Olive on the spot in front of the guests at the party was subtle foreshadowing. Retrospectively, that was the moment where my instincts were telling me that he was suspicious and would become an antagonist of sorts. The manner in which the other faculty members spoke to Olive was seriously off-putting too.
5. Adam is a thoughtful guy. He defends Olive at the party and comforts her right after, recognising that her struggles are due to the patriarchal nature of their field. It’s also comical that he shows her this by reminding her to have the confidence of a mediocre white man.
6. The montage of Olive and Adam together was quite simply, adorable—Adam becomes Olive’s personal dissertation committee, helping with her presentation. It’s always nice to watch a montage of the two leads falling in love with each other in more intimate settings.
7. The one-bed trope continues winning. I’m glad the film had fun with this trope and even gave Olive a tinge of genre awareness when she remarks that there’s eventually only going to be one bed. A fun detail to note is that although she laughs at Adam’s note, she looks disappointed to see that there are in fact, two beds.
8. When Olive is in the bathroom after her presentation, I am reminded of the potential power dynamic between her and Adam, as well as the influence that Adam has in the field. Although he isn’t directly her supervisor or professor since they’re not in the same field of study, he still does potentially hold power in shaping her future.
9. The colour grading is surprisingly grey. I was expecting it to be brighter overall in order to emulate the feel-good emotions evoked by a romcom, but it still made for a cosy atmosphere. Still a choice, for sure.
10. Watching this movie with someone who works in STEM academia can potentially provide running commentary. From a lack of protective clothing in the lab and contaminating lab coats by wearing them outside, to having Mountain Dew near experiments, my STEM friend sure had fun pointing out the ball of errors in there. What the film did get right on the nose though? The casual scientific reference drops made in day-to-day conversations, as if we were always meant to understand them.
11. The sequence of events that occur after the conference is a highlight. Adam and Olive are sincerely vulnerable with each other in the restaurant, and Adam opens up about his own past. On the way back to the hotel, he carries her bridal-style, which had me squealing inwardly. It’s gentle, tender, and everything a girl can ask for.
12 Don’t ask: Olive looks endearing in an oversized tee.
13. The plot twist is quick and unexpected for viewers who haven’t read the book (Et tu, Brute?). Where Tom might have seemed innocuous for the greater part of the movie, he is eventually revealed to be evil personified. A microcosm representing the views of many men in male-dominated fields, his character is truly appalling.
14. In the last 20 minutes of the movie, I felt like I went through a deeply sorrowful heart-break, a frustrating argument and then at long last, a heartfelt reunion. That final kiss felt cathartic.
