Calling all fake dating trope fanatics! The official trailer for The Love Hypothesis dropped on Aug. 26, and fans are freaking out about it. The movie adaptation of Ali Hazelwood’s bestselling novel features Lili Reinhart as Olive and Tom Bateman as Dr. Adam. If the stacked cast wasn’t enough for you, then the cliffhanger trailer will definitely get you excited for this movie.Â
If the entire book could be synthesized into one minute and 58 seconds, Prime Video did just that with the official Love Hypothesis trailer. It tells the overarching story of Olive and Adam: how they meet, why they start their fake relationship, and how the science of their love evolves. Pretty much, Olive wants to be the ultimate wingwoman for her best friend, and a fake relationship with Adam was her key to success. And just as any other trope of this category: Surprise, they actually fall in love!Â
Before even watching the trailer, fans were absolutely stoked that the adaptation is rated R. With many other romance novels that turned into movies, the lack of spicy scenes are often a let-down. I mean I have to agree with fans on this one, since Hazelwood’s written description of Olive and Dr. Adam’s slow burn chemistry was so good. And after all, why adapt a fake dating trope novel if you’re not going to do the romance justice?Â
Across social media, fans are anticipating The Love Hypothesis to be the next It Romance movie. Comparing their reactions to the trailer to their love for Heated Rivalry and Off Campus puts high stakes on the actual film. Especially when it comes to the final scene of the trailer, where Adam grabs Olive’s arm while sitting in a hotel room — a scene that many fans of the book have picked up as a teaser to what happens in the book’s Chapter 16. Accompanied with Lili Reinhart’s promo TikTok specifically addressing everyone’s comments on Chapter 16, fans are waiting with bated breath to see if the moment from the book plays out on the screen.Â
Spoiler alert: Spoilers for The Love Hypothesis novel follow. If you haven’t read it yet (and don’t mind spoilers), Chapter 16 is Hazelwood’s bonus chapter of The Love Hypothesis from Adam’s point of view. This chapter features a steamy scene between Olive and Adam, where he yearns to tell her how he truly feels about her. The tension between the two is wild, but Adam constantly fights his thoughts to follow through with what his heart (and body) want. The conversation and chemistry in this chapter are guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat, so paired with the R rating and teasers, this scene will surely have fans fulfilled by the movie adaptation.Â
The hard part with any movie adaptation of a romance novel is that readers create a very specific creative image of the characters and how they interact. Based on the interviews and trailer that I’ve watched, I’m optimistic that The Love Hypothesis will elicit the same emotions that I felt when reading the book. And if the moment from the trailer does end up being a moment from Chapter 16, best believe that there will be many happy viewers (including myself). Be sure to mark your calendars, because Sept. 23 will be a busy one for Prime Video — and The Love Hypothesis fans.