'The Love Hypothesis' Review: Proof that Book-to-Screen Adaptations can work
By Shauna Bushe - September 24, 2026
When approaching a book-to-screen adaptation, you walk a delicate tightrope. A novel has hundreds of pages of worldbuilding, while a film only has a few hours. The challenge lies in reducing the plot, preserving iconic dialogue and satisfying a protective fanbase, all while creating a convincing movie in its own right. The Love Hypothesis gets it right from the very beginning, by honouring the source material and tweaking the timeline with-out losing its core essence of Olive and Adams story: making fans feel like their favourites characters have truly come to life.
What is 'The Love Hypothesis' about?
Brilliant and fiercely loyal Ph.D. student Olive (Lili Reinhart) would do anything for her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) – including a fake dating relationship. When Olive realises Anh is holding back on pursuing her crush Jeremy, out of respect for Olives past feelings, Olive takes desperate measures to prove she has moved on. In a panic, she impulsively kisses the departments most feared professor Dr Carlson (Tom Bateman). What starts as a mutual fix turns into a fake-dating arrangement, but intense chemistry and genuine affection begin to blur the lines.
Prime Video has had a string of rom coms hit its platform this year, such as the forbidden romance Drawn Together and a more dramatic, self-reflecting The Last Sunrise. Now, the long-awaited screen adaption of Ali Hazelwood’s best-selling novel is here. The Love Hypothesis is headed by electric leads and an unshakable commitment to what made the book a fan favourite to begin with.
Director Claire Scanlon builds a soft environment where the real affection sneaks up on both characters, it isn’t fabricated with grand gestures, but naturally earned through steady listening and quiet, gentle acts of service. Rather than forcing Olive and Adam to be performative, Scanlon navigates the central fake relationship around subtle micro-calibrations; like a self-conscious posture check after two people are terrified of reading to far into a brush a hand. The Love Hypothesis intentionally strips away the glamorous appearance of loud, overdone cliches in rom-coms, grounding itself instead with an authentic, slow burning intimacy.
The ensemble of characters is endlessly easy to love, bringing Hazelwood’s page turner to life with an energy that makes each dynamic feel familiar on screen. Lili Reinhart captures Olive’s chaotic energy by embodying a mix of clumsy charm and brilliant passion. Beside her, Tom Bateman grounds the film as Adam Carlson, bringing his signature brooding exterior, with a gentle soft centre beneath. As for the sidekicks, Rachel Marsh carries a radiant, supportive warmth in Anh while Jaboukie Young-White is the same dry, unserious roommate we came to love on the page. But every romance needs an antagonist, and Arty Froushan delivers a standout performance.
While The Love Hypothesis undergoes a few tweaks, specifically the timeline. It honours the material in other ways by keeping details of which fans treasure, from memorable lines like “smart ass”, to quirky character wardrobe choices such as unicorn socks, right down to the admirably detailed office décor. It’s these specifics that help you feel connected to the characters, the worldbuilding in general, specially where it counts most. How audiences digest these shifts ultimately comes down to personal preference. While traditionalists might prefer line-by-line truth, others may be more forgiving of changes that serve the narrative’s arc. For example, completely omitting Holden – a key character in Olive’s confidence allows this new adaptation to give Olive more agency and reach a crucial milestone all on her own.
While the timeline may change, The Love Hypothesis is a triumph. Smart, ridiculously laugh-out-loud, trusts the absurdity of its fake dating set-up and delivers a charming, crowd-pleasing riot. It doesn’t need to be perfect; all it needs to do is make us swoon and it delivered in spades.
'The Love Hypothesis' is streaming now on Prime Video.
Want more film reviews? Dive into more reviews, rankings, and film conversations on our site.
Explore Film Focus Online now!
Shauna Bushe
Writer
Shauna is always down to talk about movie lore, collector of all things physical media and driven by a life long love for horror cinema.
Want your film or TV show reviewed by Shauna? Contact us.
