‘The Love Hypothesis’ Review: Charming Amazon Romance Sticks to the Formula

The love story in "The Love Hypothesis" follows a familiar formula that seems to be a staple in many romantic comedies. The film, based on Ali Hazelwood's best-selling novel, tells the tale of Lili Reinhart's character, Olive, a Stanford medical student who is researching pancreatic cancer. She is in love with her friend Jeremy, but he is already in love with someone else.

To give her friend permission to pursue her own happiness, Olive pretends to be in a relationship with Dr. Adam Carlsen (Tom Bateman), whom everyone on campus calls "Dr. Evil."

Olive's plan is to make it look like Adam is settling down at Stanford, which would help him secure funding for his research. In return, he assists her best friend Anh in finding love. The story takes viewers through classic scenarios of mismatched lovers who can't imagine being together, but as the film progresses, they gradually discover that they can't imagine being apart.

Reinhart plays a shy, neurotic demisexual character, and Bateman portrays Adam as a broody cad, albeit more like a Mr. Spock than a space wizard. The chemistry between the actors is palpable, and the conflict is so tried-and-true it feels almost primordial. While "The Love Hypothesis" doesn't offer any groundbreaking material, it does a good job of following a formula and making it feel fresh.

This results in an accessible romantic comedy that will appeal to both science enthusiasts and those who simply love a good love story.