There’s something about the fall that makes us crave a good rom-com. Maybe it’s a time that reminds us of all those feel-good movies that Hollywood used to produce—When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, The Proposal. It’s safe to say that readers and movie watchers alike have been begging for a classic romantic comedy for some time now. So, when The Love Hypothesis was announced, readers around the world rejoiced (us included). Ali Hazelwood is a household name in the romance space, and we knew Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman had big shoes to fill. The result? A heartwarming rom-com full of humor, charm and chemistry.

What’s The Love Hypothesis About?

The Love Hypothesis follows Olive Smith, a PhD student who doesn’t believe in happily-ever-afters. But when a desperate attempt to convince her best friend she’s dating someone leads to a fake relationship with grumpy professor Adam Carlsen, things quickly become more complicated than she expected. Suddenly, their little experiment starts to feel too close to combustion, and their feelings are put under a microscope.

What The Film Got Right 

Fake dating is a difficult trope to pull off on screen and make it feel real. Let’s face it—how many people do you know who have gotten into fake relationships to save their grant funding or encourage their friends to date the person you have a crush on? We’d venture to guess zero. Yet, the adaptation nailed it without making it feel cringey, a feat in itself. 

One of the story’s biggest draws is the chemistry between Olive and Adam. Their relationship has plenty of awkwardness, banter, and tension, but there’s also a genuine sweetness to watching them slowly get to know each other. Especially as we see Adam, who’s supposed to be intimidating and a bit rigid, soften ever so slowly with every interaction they have. The slow burn is evident, just as it is in the book, and for some, that might read as a lack of chemistry. But we appreciated watching the stiff Dr. Carlsen thaw gradually before our eyes.

And while there are certainly plenty of romantic moments, we were happy to see that the friendships didn’t get left behind. Olive’s relationships with Anh and Malcom are an important part of what makes her story so enjoyable, and the adaptation gives those characters plenty of room to add humor and personality. In many romances, the friendships fall to the wayside, but the addition of these characters made the world feel bigger than just Olive and Adam’s romance.

The Differences

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

No Dr. Holden 

Most of the characters from Ali Hazelwood’s novel make their way into the adaptation, but there is one notable exception: Dr. Holden Rodriguez, Adam’s childhood best friend. Holden plays an important role in the book, including developing a romance with Olive’s roommate and best friend, Malcolm. Because Holden isn’t part of the film, his role in the story is naturally shifted, including a key warning he gives Olive about Dr. Tom Benton and his potentially questionable intentions.

Jeremy and Olive’s Past

Another bigger change comes early on with Olive and Jeremy. In the book, they’re exes, but the movie changes their history and makes Jeremy Olive’s longtime crush instead. The reason Olive starts fake-dating Adam stays the same, though. After seeing the chemistry between Jeremy and her best friend, Anh, Olive realizes Anh is holding back because of her feelings for Jeremy. So, she decides to convince Anh she’s moved on by pretending to date Adam.

Dr. Tom Benton

Tom’s storyline gets a few notable changes in the adaptation. The movie adds a few new interactions between Tom and Olive, including a faculty picnic and cocktail party, and changes how Olive gets invited to the Boston science conference (Tom invites her rather than the organizers).

The biggest change, however, comes at the conference, where the book’s scene of Olive recording Tom sexually harassing her after she rejects him is replaced with a hotel-room confrontation. Tom threatens Olive and tells her she’ll have to sleep with him, or he’ll take her research, but Olive doesn’t record the encounter.

Because the recording doesn’t exist in the movie, Anh reveals the truth to Adam in the lab bathroom, where she also convinces him he needs to go after the woman he loves. 

Our Final Thoughts

What we loved most is that The Love Hypothesis doesn’t feel like it’s trying to be anything other than a classic romance. It knows exactly what it is: a charming, easy-to-watch love story with two people you want to see end up together. 

If you’re coming to the adaptation as a longtime fan of the book, you won’t be disappointed. The Love Hypothesis was exactly what you would hope for from a rom-com. Electric chemistry, a strong group of supportive friends, plenty of laughs, and two characters you desperately want to see fall in love. This adaptation delivers all of that, making for a sweet, entertaining, and thoroughly enjoyable romantic kickoff to snuggle up season.