The Love Hypothesis reviews: Lili Reinhart shines in a rushed, familiar rom-com

The film version of Ali Hazelwood's novel The Love Hypothesis is out, and early reviews agree on one point: Lili Reinhart is the main reason to watch. Reviewers find the romance warm and easy to enjoy. Many also feel it moves too fast and sticks closely to a familiar formula.

Reinhart plays Olive Smith, a PhD student at Stanford whose research is about catching pancreatic cancer early. Olive wants her best friend Anh, played by Rachel Marsh, to feel free to date the man Olive once had a crush on. To prove she has moved on, Olive kisses the first man she runs into in the lab corridor. He turns out to be Adam Carlsen, a stern professor played by Tom Bateman, who goes along with the fake relationship because he needs to look settled and serious about staying at the university.

Reviewers do not agree on how well the formula works. One review enjoys the grumpy-meets-sunshine pairing and says the chemistry makes the old beats feel fresh. The same review points to clumsy comic scenes and a romance that races to its ending. Another review is harsher. It calls the setup contrived and gives the film two stars.

Reinhart gets praise from both reviews, with her nervous, earnest energy said to carry the story. Bateman gets a mixed response. One review says he handles Adam's severity well but gets little room to soften, while another finds his stuck-up act forced. Marsh is singled out in one review as a pleasant surprise in the best friend role. The cast reportedly also includes Jaboukie Young-White and Nicholas Duvernay, with Claire Scanlon directing.

For book fans, one review notes that some supporting characters were cut. It says the third act and the intimate scene are handled with care, and the dialogue sounds close to what readers imagined. Fan reaction videos posted online have also cheered the pairing of Olive and Adam. The film is reportedly streaming on Prime Video.