The Love Hypothesis

 

This review may contain spoilers!

The Love Hypothesis is a romance film that adapts Ali Hazelwood's bestselling novel of the same name. In this feature, Olive Smith winds up in a fake relationship with Dr. Carlsen (also known by students as Dr Evil). Olive hopes to convince two people close to her to develop their own relationship, while Carlsen plans to secure his grant for another year by playing the part of a man settling down. But what happens when there's some real chemistry between these two scientists...

I have a fair few misgivings about this film; the romance genre in general feels quite diluted at the moment. I talked about this with another film at the top of this year, People We Meet on Vacation. I see these trendy romance films coming out, spinning out of books that aren't really breaking ground on the genre too much. My issue is that romance films or novels often feel like they have to play by a certain rulebook at the moment, hitting all of the right tropes for the sake of it. Enemies to lovers? Check. One room/bed? Check. Fake dating? Check. Miscommunication? Check. There is rarely a moment where it doesn't feel like we're just walking a similar path that all of these feel-good tales of love have walked before. That's not necessarily a bad thing all of the time, but it matters when the story elements that are unique to this individual story aren't interesting. There is no part of me that really believed in the setting or the characters playing within it. The concept that Olive is an upcoming scientist with something groundbreaking to give to pancreatic cancer research is rarely believable; it also seems unlikely that Dr Carlsen is capable of being a Professor - let alone one who is kicking out or failing a student every other day. I want to believe in what's playing out, but the film just wants to coyly tip us towards chapter 16 most of the time.

That isn't to say this film isn't without something to fall head over heels for. If you're looking for a book boyfriend who doesn't let out his feelings until at least half of the story is done, who growls at anyone who threatens you and who will chivalrously cut his keynote speech short to come support you, then you've found your man. Tom Bateman's portrayal of Dr Adam Carlsen was what really kept me hooked throughout. It's a very fictional, over-the-top role, but it's clear Bateman is really just having some fun with it. The result is the sort of character who would leap perfectly out of the cartoon covers of any romance novel. I also have to say that for all of the narrative failings of The Love Hypothesis (are we seriously still doing the miscommunication trope?), it is actually very sweet. You are often rooting for Adam and Olive to wind up in one another's arms, which is only spurred on by their sweet remarks, teasing and flirting. Lili Reinhart leads this film as Olive, and she seems most in her element when she gets to flirt or toy with a comedic moment. Likewise, Reinhart is one of the major reasons I struggled to believe the greater story of Love Hypothesis: She's not much of a scientist figure. Despite that, there is no denying what she can achieve as a leading performer.

This is a film in which none of the characters generally feel like they'd fit into the university setting that is being painted. But that doesn't mean the performances are bad; in fact, I was pretty delighted by this cast for the most part. Rachel Marsh and Jaboukie Young-White play Reinhart's onscreen best friends, and they both really do a good job at bridging some of the quieter scenes between big moments. Young-White's take on Malcolm is one of conflict; he struggles to take personal responsibility for himself throughout the feature. Marsh and Reinhart, on the other hand, have such an authentic bond of friendship; I also just found Marsh to be a light, hilarious presence. Duvernay didn't fit into this group as neatly, ultimately landing the role of 'the other boyfriend in the group'. Arty Froushan's take on the slimy Harvard Doctor who sexually harasses Olive can't be a comfortable role to play, but Froushan makes for one hell of an antagonist.

The Love Hypothesis could have been more if it tried to have any semblance of style whatsoever. There are incredible moments from the soundtrack; artists like Gracie Abrams, Selena Gomez and HAIM send this film into the stratosphere. But I never found myself feeling the same way about the score. I could load up any direct-to-streaming romance film on Amazon or Netflix and hear the exact same musical themes blasted at me. It reads like there isn't an effort desired to stand out from the crowd. The director of this feature has a TV background, and it absolutely shows in every frame of the film. I could not tell you more than a couple of scenes that were well shot in this. Everything looks so basically framed, simple and like the purpose was to cobble the scene together and move on to the next one. The editing cuts are simple, and I don't think the team behind post-production had ever heard of the art of colour grading your film. The Love Hypothesis is a visual eyesore that knows people will watch it because of the book, Reinhart and Bateman. There's not much else: happily ever after kiss, cut to credits.

Despite some better efforts from the cast, this is a romance as shallow as they come. I would give The Love Hypothesis a 3.5/10.