Based on Ali Hazelwood’s New York Times bestseller, The Love Hypothesis was released as an Amazon Prime original movie on Sept. 23, 2026. While I was doomscrolling on Instagram one night, I came across a teaser trailer of the movie. I’ve read the book already, so I thought that it would be a fun idea to watch it at midnight and compare the two versions! So that I did! And I have a lot of things to say about it.
The story follows from the perspective of our main heroine, Olive Smith, a young PhD student studying at Stanford who’s really passionate about finding new ways to detect pancreatic cancer early. She’s your typical “sunshine-y” character who loves extremely sweet drinks.
She has a crush on a guy who is into her best friend, and Olive knows that her best friend is also into him. Olive basically loves her best friend like a sister, so much so that she’s willing to give up her crush for her. So to convince her that she doesn’t want him anymore, she grabs the nearest guy and kisses him. Surprise, surprise, she kisses the very grumpy and evil (but hot) professor, Dr. Adam Carlsen, whom everyone hates! After the kiss incident, they come up with a temporary fake dating agreement that becomes something much deeper by the end of the movie.
Overall, I thought this movie was so cute! I may be a little biased because I remember loving the book when I first read it. Honestly, this book was my first stepping stone into my reading era. But in terms of the movie, I thought it was the right amount of cheesy and cute! Yes, I did find some parts to be unbearably cringey, but it was all good and fun for the unserious tone of the movie.
But there were also times when the movie got serious when it needed to be. Now, I’m not going to spoil it, but there is a major character’s backstory that has to do with past parental loss as well as an instance of workplace harassment. These are extremely serious things that can’t be taken lightly, and I feel as if the movie handles these subjects so well that it spins these elements into an overall optimistic movie.
Now the big question is this: is it better than the book? As a book girlie myself, it’s really hard to say because, in my humble opinion, nothing compares to the original book! However, I will say that this movie adaptation is certainly one you don’t want to miss! With so many things going on in our chaotic lives, with school and work and extracurriculars, rom-coms are literally the solution to bringing much-needed whimsy into our lives, and The Love Hypothesis does not miss!