The Love Hypothesis, directed by Claire Scanlon, sees the page brought to life as the film is a live-action adaptation of Ali Hazelwood’s 2021 novel of the same name, but this review will be completely separate from the book. This self-described rom-com centers around the compassionate PhD student Olive Smith (Lili Reinhart) and notoriously harsh professor Dr. Adam Carlsen (Tom Bateman) as they start a fake relationship in order to convince Olive’s best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) to date her, as well as Olive’s longtime crush Jeremy (Nicholas Duvernay), and to allow Dr. Carlsen to conduct an experiment on the theory of love. The Love Hypothesis is able to show what happens when love blooms in a very unexpected place between two completely unexpected people.

While on the surface, this film can seem like a light-hearted romantic comedy, and at times, or most of the time, it definitely is, but it is able to catch you off guard at certain times with an unexpected emotional moment between Olive and Adam or Olive and Anh, whether that be revealing backstory or building on their character arcs. Reinhart and Bateman’s comedic chemistry is there more than their romantic chemistry, as some of their words and movements towards each other seem more stilted at moments when they are developing the romantic side of their relationship. But they make up for it somewhat in how they are able to banter and quip with one another during the development stage of their relationship; the natural back and forth helps ease the audience into the romantic side of their relationship, allowing the viewers to see that the characters have met their match mentally.

Without a doubt, the strongest performance in this film is Reinhart, as she is able to recognize and embody Olive’s anxieties, strengths, and weaknesses in the most natural of ways, transforming the page character into a living, breathing person. Reinhart’s ability to convey her emotions, no matter how complex, with just her eyes is a wonderful trait that should not be overlooked. While this is a romantic comedy, at times, Reinhart gives a performance on par with an Oscar-winning drama. Her chemistry with Marsh was unexpectedly delightful; they bounced off each other with a quick wit and adoration that is reminiscent of best friends, and the bond that they were able to forge on screen made the ridiculous fake dating concept a little bit more believable.

Though the pacing of the film is a little rushed, I do believe that they could have extended the ending by about thirty more minutes and fleshed out the character of Malcolm (Jaboukie Young-White) a little bit more, as his outburst at Olive seemed a little unexpected and more so a part of the climax rather than anything to do with character development. I found the comedy in this movie a delightful aspect; everyone seemed to jive off of each other well, and in every scene that was infused with it, I found myself laughing in one way or another. But the film was able to blend it well with the more serious moments and, while rather rushed, touched on the problems women face in the S.T.E.M. field, and showed sides of the characters that allowed them to feel more real and less shallow.

The Love Hypothesis depicts a charming tale of unexpected romance between two people who had everything else but that in mind. While the story cannot seem to find its pacing, it was able to weave a surprisingly funny and entertaining book adaptation.