Prime Video has made it pretty clear over the last couple of years that it has every intention of being the steamiest streamer on the market – at least in mainstream terms. From My Fault to Off Campus, it's already delivered multiple heaping servings of romance, but there seems to be no end to either the demand or its ability to supply it.
The latest in that long lineup looks like it could be a hit even by the inflated standards of Prime Video and Netflix. The Love Hypothesis has a classic, inventive twist at its heart, and looks like a potentially excellent rom-com that errs on the steamier side. That positions it to be quite a hit for Prime Video when it arrives on 23 September.
Lili Reinhart stars in the movie as Olive Smith, a gifted PhD student who finds herself in some complicated territory in an attempt to help her friend find the right partner. Convinced that she needs a fake boyfriend of her own to reassure her bestie that it's okay to shack up with someone, Olive kisses the first man she sees – not realising until too late that it's her boss: Tom Bateman as Dr. Adam Carlsen.
He's a character so stiff and formal that Olive and the other PhD students have seemingly nicknamed him "Dr. Evil", but that doesn't stop him from agreeing to her furtive proposal. He needs an apparent partner to make his department realise that he's committed to the university, so it's possibly a win-win for both their aims.
If that all sounds like a fairly classic setup for a rom-com, you'd be right – it's a meet-cute of classic proportions, and a textbook way to set up some funny situations. The two of them will have to mug their way through various performances for their friends and colleagues, all while they inevitably start to fall for each other despite themselves.
The movie probably ends in a way that you can predict, but that's the fun of a rom-com – it's all about the journey, as well as the destination. The Love Hypothesis is also based on a best-selling novel, so it's likely to be impressively well-plotted. You'll be able to find out for yourself in a few weeks, though.
