Movie Review: The Love Hypothesis (2026)
Based on the bestselling book, The Love Hypothesis, by Ali Hazelwood, this new romance movie will definitely make you laugh, swoon, and maybe cheer up just a little 😉. Check out my full review for The Love Hypothesis (2026) below!
Movie Blurb
Olive (Lili Reinhart) is just trying to make it through grad school so she can get a grant to work on her research for pancreatic cancer. Even if boyfriends don’t fit into the equation, she still can’t help but to have a crush on Jeremy (Nicholas Duvernay) from afar. Her best friend, Anh (Rachel Marsh), though, ends yo getting asked on a date by Jeremy. Even though she really wants to go, she refuses because Olive liked him first. Olive, wanting them to get together, kisses a stranger to prove she no longer has a crush. It just so happens that the stranger she kisses is the meanest, grumpiest scientist in the building (Tom Bateman as Adam). Let the fake dating commence.
Review | Heidi Dischler
I really didn’t have super high hopes for this movie. I was pleasantly surprised, though, to see that, from what I can remember, it followed the book pretty well. Lili Reinhart did a great job as Olive, but I do find that she came off a little more serious than Olive did in the book. Tom Bateman was honestly perfect in every dark, broody, and awkward way. He played Adam to perfection and I absolutely loved watching them get to fall in love.
As far as plot goes, basically like I mentioned in the blurb, Olive kisses Adam and he says he’s going to file a Title IX complaint (chuckle… I work in higher ed and that definitely made me laugh). The next day, he calls her into his office and discusses how he’d like to start fake dating so that his grant providers will extend the money for his research because he’s apparently a “flight risk with no roots” (which is an understatement in my opinion). Obviously what follows is a lot of romance tropes, sweet moments, and laughable fake dating.
With the characters, I really did love them all. Adam and Olive came alive on screen with Tom Bateman and Lili Reinhart. That had unmatchable chemistry once the movie progresses and their characters get comfortable around one another. It really was a great romance movie.
Spoilers ahead.
Honestly just some unfiltered thoughts below with a few spoilers sprinkled in.
- Malcolm (Jaboukie Young-White) taught me what demi sexual means… haha.
- Now I REALLY REALLY want conveyor belt sushi….
- Legitimately was still just as much of a gut punch as in the book when Tom (Arty Froushan) says that Olive can only work in his lab if she gives him sexual favors. Men can be… horrible to say the least. Adam, of course, came to her rescue and told him what an ass hat that he was and that his career was over (goodBYE, Tom).
Overall, I really did enjoy this sweet romance movie. I found myself laughing, smiling, and leaning way closer to the screen than I should have at times. Tom Bateman and Lili Reinhart did amazingly as Adam and Tom and their chemistry was unmatched. Definitely a must-see for romance lovers and lovers of the actual book.
Where to Watch:
