The Love Hypothesis – Prime Video – 1 hour and 50 minutes
| Stream Only on Prime Video |
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Olive rubs her eyes in a bathroom after inserting expired contacts. As she fumbles for solution, Dr. Adam Carlsen enters and warns her that he cleans his equipment here. She’s applying for Stanford’s doctoral program and hopes to get in. He bluntly encourages her and then sternly asks her to leave. Olive gets in but feels alone on campus. Her mother passed away when she was 15, and she never knew her father. Olive is a brilliant student but struggles to talk to others. On her first day, Olive sees Jeremy and instantly has a crush. She walks away and sits at a desk near the door. Confident Anh enters and pushes Olive to sit at the front. They bond over junk food and reality TV. Anh becomes Olive’s family, along with Jeremy and their friend Malcolm. Jeremy is successful, but Malcolm crumbles under Dr. Evil.
Olive enters the research lab and overhears Anh talking to Jeremy. Jeremy tries to kiss Anh, but she rejects him. Later, Olive asks why. Anh explains that she knows Jeremy is Olive’s crush. It would break girl code if they dated. Olive lies. She says she’s been secretly dating someone. And they have a date tonight. Olive permits Anh to go after Jeremy. To avoid Anh, Olive spends her evening in the lab. However, she hears Jeremy and Anh coming down the hallway. So she grabs the first guy she can find, asks him for a kiss, and kisses him. Anh and Jeremy see them kissing and quietly back out. Olive pulls away and sees that she kissed Dr. Evil, a.k.a. Dr. Carlsen. He threatens to write a Title 9 complaint because she didn’t wait for his consent. She begs forgiveness and explains her situation. She asks to fake-date for a while, and he leaves.
Later, he calls her into his office. The funding committee fears he will go to Harvard because he has no ties to the area. However, having a girlfriend with one year left in her program will help him get funding to continue his research. Also, a fake relationship will convince Anh to keep dating Jeremy. They agree to keep their fake relationship going until October 29th, the date of the funding decision. They will treat this as another experiment. What happens when chemistry takes over, and the feelings become real?
Based on The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, this romantic comedy follows the fake dating cliché (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer). It’s surprisingly funny and leans into science compellingly. Olive and Adam are socially awkward. While Olive allows people to get close, Adam pushes them away. When they open up, they connect, and you feel the spark, which perfectly sets up the romance. The story doesn’t drag because the ensemble keeps the pace with one-liners and insightful comments. The writers make the friendships feel authentic. Olive and Anh aren’t sniping at each other. Instead, they support each other, and Anh helps Olive create a family. Those relationships keep you watching and falling in love with everyone in the story. The characters express themselves without censorship, offer different perspectives, and laugh without judgement. The ending feels a bit too easy and predictable, but romantics will love the conclusion. The acting didn’t have a standout. However, it will make you laugh and swoon. This film is a solid date movie with a bit of science thrown in.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars
Well, that’s just bad protocol – Olive
You have no idea what I want – Dr. Adam Carlsen
It’s like astrology for guys – Anh
Okay, I am having a really rough day – Malcom
Oh, you agree with that? – Jeremy
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Categories: Lili Reinhart, movie, Prime Video, review, The Love Hypothesis, Tom Bateman, VOD
