---
title: "The Love Hypothesis"
year: 2026
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-love-hypothesis"
fi1m_id: "the-love-hypothesis"
imdb_id: "tt22526100"
tmdb_id: 1032863
wikidata_id: "Q136540069"
fi1m_score: 53
critics_score: 51
critics_reviews: 4
published: "2026-10-22"
updated: "2026-10-22T01:42:27.878756+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Love Hypothesis (2026)

Directed by Claire Scanlon · 1h 52m · MPA R · Romance, Comedy

## Identity

The Love Hypothesis

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-love-hypothesis
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-love-hypothesis
- **IMDb ID:** tt22526100
- **TMDB ID:** 1032863
- **Wikidata ID:** Q136540069
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22526100/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1032863, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q136540069

**Fi1m score: 53** · Critics 51 (early) from 4 reviews

*In a sentence:* Lili Reinhart appears to be doing enough romantic comedy for two

> Lili Reinhart gives this fake-dating comedy some life, but the romance never becomes convincing enough. Claire Scanlon’s film offers agreeable friendship scenes, then hurries through the complications that need the most care.

## Synopsis

Olive Smith (Lili Reinhart) kisses a professor, Dr. Adam Carlsen (Tom Bateman), and proposes that they pretend to date. He accepts, giving Olive a relationship to perform and both of them a lie to maintain. The people around the pair include Anh Pham (Rachel Marsh) and Malcolm Browne (Jaboukie Young-White). For Olive and Adam, agreeing to the proposal is only the beginning: they have to behave like a couple while knowing that the relationship is supposed to be an act. Their agreement puts apparent intimacy ahead of getting to know one another.

## Review

*The Love Hypothesis* is a romantic comedy with a likeable lead and a romance that never quite earns the fuss. Claire Scanlon directs Sarah Rothschild’s adaptation of Ali Hazelwood’s novel, using a familiar arrangement: Olive Smith and Dr. Adam Carlsen agree to pretend they are a couple. The attraction is supposed to grow through the effort of keeping that pretence going. There is enough comic promise here to make the film’s lack of conviction frustrating.

Lili Reinhart does the most useful work as Olive, giving the comedy an energy the writing struggles to sustain. The set-up is direct enough: Olive kisses the professor, proposes fake dating and gets his agreement. Her willingness to commit to this unlikely behaviour helps, because a romantic comedy cannot spend every scene apologising for its premise. Her comic timing makes Olive worth following even when the arrangement seems unlikely to produce much beyond the expected complications.

Tom Bateman’s Dr. Adam Carlsen is the harder sell, and the pairing does not generate enough attraction to make the predictability pleasurable. We were unmoved by their agreement to fake a relationship. There is plenty of comic opportunity in the proposal, but too little sense that these two will be interesting together. The film needs us to look forward to their next encounter; too often, we are simply waiting for the familiar progression to continue.

The attention to Olive’s friendships is welcome, giving her a life beyond the question of what the professor thinks of her. It also provides some relief from a central relationship that keeps asking for more interest than it earns. Sarah Rothschild’s script is less assured about power and consent, leaving its more unsettling implications insufficiently examined. Nobody needs a romantic comedy to stop for a lecture, but the professor’s position calls for more care than the film gives it.

The kiss is also a useful test of the filmmaking: its practical purpose is clear, but there is little excitement behind it. Matthew Clark’s cinematography cannot solve that, and neither Brent Thomas’s production design nor Laura Karpman’s music makes the attraction more persuasive. We need some reason to believe these people would choose each other without the arrangement that brings them together. Instead, the attention keeps returning to the mechanics of maintaining the pretence, which is considerably less interesting once the proposal has been accepted.

The editing, by Tia Nolan and Kim Boritz-Brehm, becomes troublesome when the film starts settling its conflicts. The third act hurries through problems that needed more time, and the haste weakens their importance. At 112 minutes, there is room for a more patient treatment of the things that matter to Olive. Too much of that time goes on keeping the arrangement moving, and too little on giving its complications enough weight.

Fake-dating comedy depends on making a familiar route worth taking, and predictability alone is no reason to dismiss this one. Claire Scanlon gets some pleasure from the friendships and from a lead who understands how to sell an awkward situation. The romance remains too thin, however, and the rushed handling of the harder material leaves the comic effort carrying too much. Dedicated admirers of Lili Reinhart may find enough here; anyone else can afford to be choosier.

*Fi1m score 53, published 22 October 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is The Love Hypothesis worth watching?**

*The Love Hypothesis* offers enough for dedicated Lili Reinhart admirers, but we find it too unconvincing as a romance to recommend more widely; we score it 53 out of 100. Reinhart’s comic timing and the friendship scenes provide some pleasure, while the central pairing lacks attraction and the harder complications receive hurried treatment.

**How long is The Love Hypothesis, and what is it rated?**

*The Love Hypothesis* runs 1h 52m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a romance and comedy film.

**Where can I watch The Love Hypothesis in the US?**

*The Love Hypothesis* is not on any streaming or rental service in the US at the moment. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is The Love Hypothesis, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Love Hypothesis* carries a UK 15 certificate, making it unsuitable for children under 15, though that rating alone does not establish how violent or frightening it is. The romance raises questions about power and consent involving a professor, which we find insufficiently examined; those concerns are worth considering for teenage viewers.

**How does The Love Hypothesis compare to The Shop Around the Corner?**

*The Love Hypothesis* is the weaker romantic comedy; we recommend [*The Shop Around the Corner*](https://film.one/film/the-shop-around-the-corner) for misunderstandings that grow more convincingly from character. Reinhart gives the fake-dating premise some energy, but the central attraction remains thin. The earlier film offers a more satisfying pairing, room for its supporting cast and sadness beneath its light comedy.

**Is The Love Hypothesis based on a true story or a book?**

*The Love Hypothesis* is adapted from Ali Hazelwood’s novel, rather than presented as a true story, with a screenplay by Sarah Rothschild. The fake-dating premise is straightforward enough to follow without reading the book, though we make no claim about how faithfully the adaptation follows it.

**What should I watch after The Love Hypothesis?**

After *The Love Hypothesis*, try [*The Shop Around the Corner*](https://film.one/film/the-shop-around-the-corner) (1940, Fi1m 88): For romantic misunderstandings that grow from character, with room for the supporting cast. Then [*The Lunchbox*](https://film.one/film/the-lunchbox) (2013, Fi1m 75): An accidental correspondence lets affection develop through attention, patience and everyday detail.

### Reviews we read (4)

- **The Guardian**, Adrian Horton (35/100, inferred): Horton finds the adaptation largely formulaic and lacking the chemistry needed to make its romance spark. Reinhart’s expressive, committed performance is the film’s saving grace, especially her comic timing. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/23/the-love-hypothesis-review-booktok-romcom)
- **Radio Times**, Alex Berry (30/100, inferred): Berry finds the film’s script clumsy and says it fails to make an important point about power and consent. The review singles out its mishandling of those unsettling elements. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/love-hypothesis-review-spoilers-prime-video/)
- **Collider**, Carly Lane (8/10): The critic calls the film a delightful, mostly successful rom-com, though its third act rushes through resolving conflicts. She especially praises Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman’s chemistry, along with the film’s attention to Olive’s friendships. [Read](https://collider.com/the-love-hypothesis-movie-review-prime-video/)
- **The Wrap** (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the familiar fake-dating romance charming and fresh despite its formulaic story. They praise the leads’ chemistry and Claire Scanlon’s ability to make well-worn rom-com beats feel lively. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/the-love-hypothesis-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** Claire Scanlon
- **Director:** Claire Scanlon
- **Screenplay:** Sarah Rothschild
- **Novel:** Ali Hazelwood
- **Cinematography:** Matthew Clark
- **Editor:** Tia Nolan, Kim Boritz-Brehm
- **Music:** Laura Karpman
- **Production design:** Brent Thomas
- **Costume design:** Myriam Hanahem
- **Producer:** Elizabeth Cantillon
- **Cast:** Lili Reinhart as Olive Smith; Tom Bateman as Dr. Adam Carlsen; Rachel Marsh as Anh Pham; Jaboukie Young-White as Malcolm Browne; Nicholas Duvernay as Jeremy Langley; Arty Froushan as Dr. Thomas Benton; Jeananne Goossen as Dr. Juliet Aslan; Aladeen Tawfeek as Dr. Eugene Fastuca
- **Runtime:** 1h 52m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 23 September 2026
- **Genres:** Romance, Comedy
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwdamnfS6IM

## Where to watch in the US

Not streaming, renting or buying in the US at the last check.

## If you liked this

- *Set It Up* (2018): Another romantic arrangement, with sharper jokes and a more convincing central pairing.
- *The Shop Around the Corner* (1940), Fi1m 88: For romantic misunderstandings that grow from character, with room for the supporting cast. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-shop-around-the-corner.md)
- *Man Up* (2015): A mistaken identity gives two wary adults a reason to keep talking.
- *The Lunchbox* (2013), Fi1m 75: An accidental correspondence lets affection develop through attention, patience and everyday detail. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-lunchbox.md)
- *I'm Your Man* (2021): For a more searching comedy about treating attraction as something that can be arranged.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-love-hypothesis