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Hypothesis: If there’s an adaptation of a fan-favorite book, it won’t satisfy expectations.
Experiment: Watch “The Love Hypothesis” on Prime Video.
“The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood is a bestselling STEM romance that follows the fake-dating exploits of Olive Smith, a Stanford University Ph.D. candidate, and Dr. Adam Carlsen, a brilliant professor whose grad students call him “Dr. Evil.”
The two agree on a fake relationship after Olive surprise-kisses Adam one night in the university lab. She’s trying to convince her best friend, Anh, that she doesn’t have feelings for a student named
Jeremy so that Anh can date him guilt-free. Adam is trying to convince the head of his department he’s not a flight risk and to release millions in grant funding to him.
Yes, there are changes to the book’s characters and plot. Jeremy isn’t Irish in the movie, Adam doesn’t push a stalled truck to the delight of onlookers, Olive isn’t the one who initiates the breakup and Anh knows about the fake-dating ruse the whole time.
But the best bits remain. Olive awkwardly applying sunscreen to a shirtless Adam at a school social? That’s there. Adam carrying Olive when her heels turn torturous? That’s there, too. So are Olive’s wonderfully supportive friends Anh and Malcolm. As is Dr. Tom Benton’s vicious and lecherous ultimatum to Olive. Fans will still want to stab him with a broken pipette.
What about the spice? There’s tension, yearning and pretend kisses that turn into real feelings. Olive and Adam get their sexy night in a conference hotel room after an impromptu date at a rotating sushi restaurant. Sadly, without Adam’s embarrassing “Biology Ninja” T-shirt.
Most importantly, Olive (Lili Reinhart) and Adam (Tom Bateman) feel like the characters readers fell in love with. Reinhart captures Olive’s quirky charm without turning cliché. Bateman unfurls Adam’s anti-social-yet-caring nature with ease. And their chemistry? The explosive matter that rom-com dreams are made of.
Conclusion: This faithful adaptation will not only satisfy fans but leave them swooning.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is 'The Love Hypothesis' movie as good as the book?
