Hypothesis: if you make a movie based on a book with a fake dating trope, then there’s a high likelihood that the book community will become obsessed.

Welcome to the latest edition of She Reads movie reviews in partnership with The Reel Obsessed. We’re Abby and Kelcy, co-creators of The Reel Obsessed, and we’re always excited to bring our film expertise and fandom to the She Reads and She Watches community. As fans of Ali Hazelwood, this was a highly anticipated watch for us. We both read, and loved, this book! And couldn’t wait to see how Adam and Olive were depicted on screen. Let’s dive in!

Movie Title:

The Love Hypothesis

Genre:

Romantic Comedy

Synopsis:

Class. Lab. Sleep. That’s the life of Olive Smith, a PhD candidate researching pancreatic cancer at Stanford University. Motivated by her mother’s passing from the disease, Olive’s sole focus is her research and her lab mice. There’s no time for dating and romance. Her precious time outside of the lab is reserved for her two best friends, Anh and Malcolm.

When Olive’s former crush, Jeremy, grows feelings for Anh, Olive tries to convince her best friend she’s over him and that she’s ok with Anh pursuing him. Anh won’t (girl code). An idea suddenly takes shape in Olive’s mind. If she can convince Anh she’s dating someone else, Anh won’t feel bad about pursuing Jeremy.

Enter: Dr. Adam Carlsen, the grumpy professor who is a big name in the scientific community and an even bigger name on campus…but as “Dr. Evil.” The cutthroat scientist is a brutal grader with a harsh exterior.

One fateful night and a kiss in the lab brings them together. A new hypothesis forms for these two scientists. If they can pull off fake dating, Olive can convince her best friend to go after what she wants and Adam can establish “roots” so the university doesn’t think he’ll leave after he gets his research funding. Fake dating would mutually benefit both of them and there’s no chance they’d ever catch feelings, right?

From awkward encounters in front of Olive’s friends, to a college-wide picnic featuring a LOT of sunscreen, Adam and Olive navigate their new relationship and eventually grow closer together. Meanwhile, Olive’s career aspirations include more research which means a need for more funding. Adam is a helpful resource for her as she navigates growing her confidence as a scientist. And so is Adam’s friend, Tom, who is a researcher at another institution. Though Tom provides an opportunity for Olive to continue her research, his intentions may not be so pure.

This film is directed by Claire Scanlon (Set It Up, The People We Hate at the Wedding) and the screenplay is by Sarah Rothschild (The Sleepover, Rocking The Boat). The Love Hypothesis has a run time of about 1 hour and 52 minutes.

The cast includes: Lili Reinhart, Tom Bateman, Rachel Marsh and Arty Froushan.

Bookish Blurb:

This story was originally written on the fan fiction and fan art website AO3, but in a completely different way. It started out as a fan-fiction piece about the Stars Wars characters Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver) and Rey (played by Daisy Ridley). The pairing, also known as “Reylo” to some fans, have a dedicated following. The success of the story on AO3 prompted Hazelwood to change the characters and storyline to eventually be published as The Love Hypothesis in 2021. In the movie, fans will notice both Olive and Adam have personal musical scores mirrored to those of Kylo Ren and Rey. Pay attention to when Adam walks down the hallway and you’ll notice “The Dark Side” feel. We loved the nod to this lore! We also have to mention: Tom Bateman, who plays Adam Carlsen in the movie, is married to Daisy Ridley in real life. Talk about life imitating art!

Film Facts:

Both Ali Hazelwood and Lili Reinhart have executive producer credits on the film. And The Love Hypothesis was filmed at an actual university. According to Travel + Leisure, Concordia University in Montreal and Caltech in Pasadena, CA served as recording locations to capture the bustling college campus feel.

Who is The Love Hypothesis for?

The Love Hypothesis is the perfect comfort watch for the rom-com fans. This one is for the fans of movies like: The Proposal and The Wedding Date.

Abby’s Take

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Character to obsess over: 

Adam Carlsen. Though the storyline changes altered the depiction of Adam vs. the book version of him, I still think that he is a character to root for and obsess over. He’s misunderstood and needs someone like Olive to open up his hard exterior. I didn’t know how I’d feel about his robotic line delivery, but I actually enjoyed it and thought it fit a scientist like him who’s actually more shy than one would think.

A shoutout to the character named McConnell! This was a movie-only character that provided comedic relief. I enjoyed him on screen.

Abby’s Review: 

It’s almost impossible to adapt a book into a movie in a way that everyone will enjoy. With the popularity of this book, this director and screenwriter had their work cut out for them. Though I have areas for improvement, there were many aspects of this film that I enjoyed.

Lili Reinhart as Olive and Tom Bateman as Adam were perfect. Though they were written slightly differently than the source material, they captured the essence of the characters. Especially Olive’s reaction after the first kiss in the lab. The dialogue was hilarious and true to the heart of the book.

The film setting was a standout. The college campus feel, the conference center, the lab, even the hotel room. They were all spot-on to what I pictured while reading it.

Unfortunately, this film lost a few stars because they cut out three scenes that were so important to me in the book.

The big reveal when Olive learns that Adam was the one who talked to her when she had the blurry contact lenses years before, AND that he’s been in love with her since. That was a major plot point in the book but in the movie, it was just casually stated while they were walking at the park. A missed opportunity to have a major movie reveal!
Adam lifting the car. In the book, it’s an example to show that Adam is a kind and helpful person, just not great at socializing. But someone without that book context may think he really was “evil” and that Olive changed him.
No “Ik hou van jou.” The decision to not mention Adam’s upbringing and backstory did his character such a disservice. The fact that we didn’t get our Dutch “I love you” makes me sad.

I highly recommend watching this one in a group. We always say at The Reel Obsessed that movie watching is a community activity. And that definitely applies here. Reacting, and let’s be honest, screaming, when we got to Chapter 16 was unforgettable with a group of fan girls. Though it wasn’t perfect, I still had a lot of fun watching this one.

One last question: Where was Holden Rodriguez?!

Kelcy’s Take

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Character to obsess over: 

Adam Carlsen is tall, handsome, brooding, grumpy… What’s not to love?! While I do think Adam Carlsen deserved a little more justice in the writing department (because my guy would NEVER skip foreplay and ghost Olive!!!) Tom Bateman does an impressive job with what he was given. He perfectly captures Adam’s intimidating exterior while still giving us glimpses of the soft, yearning man underneath it all. I only wish the film had given us more of those smaller moments that make his character so special, thoughtful, and swoon-worthy. Still, Bateman in a lab coat with that signature Adam Carlsen scowl…consider me obsessed!

Kelcy’s Review: 

As a huge fan of Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis, I went into this adaptation with incredibly high expectations. This is a story I already love, with characters and moments I’ve pictured in my head countless times, so watching them finally come to life was both surreal and, at times, a little bittersweet.

First and foremost, the casting is fantastic! Lili Reinhart feels like the perfect Olive, capturing her awkwardness, intelligence, humor, and vulnerability, while Tom Bateman completely embodies Adam. Their chemistry works, and I found myself giggling and kicking my feet through so many of their scenes. And Ahn! I LOVED her. The supporting cast brought so much personality to the world. The first act, in particular, was everything I wanted it to be. The opening felt almost exactly how I had imagined it while reading the book, and seeing some of those moments play out on screen was incredibly satisfying. While some of my favorite lines and scenes were missing from the film, we got many of the iconic lines and moments we were hoping for: the sunscreen scene, “You are such a smart ass,” Chapter 16!!! And “You’re edible” I SCREAMED! I’m also obsessed with the music when Adam appeared marching down the hall— a creative nod to Kylo Ren and the novel’s original inspiration.

Where this movie lost me a little was in what they chose to leave behind. There are so many small lines, interactions, and details from the novel that I felt could have easily been incorporated without dramatically changing the runtime or storyline. Individually they may seem insignificant, but together they’re part of what makes Olive and Adam’s relationship, and the buildup of feelings, feel so special. We got pink underwear when they could have easily been green. The “that was you?!” realization so early when it could have come later. We spent precious moments building a Rube Goldberg machine when we could have been strengthening the trust and relationship between Olive and Adam. Although, the biggest miss for me was the omission of Adam’s best friend, Holden. His absence isn’t just about missing a favorite character; I think he plays an important role in helping us understand who Adam is at his core. Seeing Adam through the eyes of someone who has known and loved him for years gives us another side of a character who can otherwise come across as intimidating and closed off.

I was also disappointed by the decision to change the recording reveal. It’s such a shocking and pivotal moment in the novel, and the movie replaces it with a climax that simply didn’t have the same impact for me. It was one of those changes where I found myself wondering why something that worked so well in the source material even needed to be altered. They had the perfect movie reveal moment RIGHT THERE!

But adapting a beloved book is always complicated. At some point, you have to let go of the movie you created in your head and allow the adaptation to exist as its own story. Once I did that, I genuinely had a great time. I’m confident that I will like this movie even more upon a rewatch with expectation now out of the way.

2026 is officially the year of the rom-com revival, and The Love Hypothesis is an important variable in those findings. 😉

The Reel Obsessed Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The Love Hypothesis will make you smile, giggle, cringe and cheer. Knowing that it’s not an exact adaptation now, we look forward to watching it again with fresh eyes. Honestly, our star rating may go up! It was just initially jarring to see the (big to us) storyline changes. But overall, we can’t complain about getting a new rom-com, especially with such a fun cast.

We want to hear from you! What did you think of The Love Hypothesis? Especially for those of you who have read the book. Make sure to follow and comment on @shereadsdotcom and @thereelobsessed accounts on Instagram to let us know. See you at the movies!