The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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The Love Hypothesis
Romance · Comedy · 2026
Olive Smith, a biology PhD candidate, and Dr. Adam Carlsen, a hotshot professor and well-known tyrant, enter into a fake relationship, seeing each of their carefully calculated theories on love get thrown into chaos.
Movie details
The Love Hypothesis
“Fake dating. Real chemistry.”
2026 Romance · Comedy 1h 52m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
8.0 / 10
Community rating
Olive Smith, a biology PhD candidate, and Dr. Adam Carlsen, a hotshot professor and well-known tyrant, enter into a fake relationship, seeing each of their carefully calculated theories on love get thrown into chaos.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Love Hypothesis?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Claire Scanlon
Written by
Sarah Rothschild
Lili Reinhart
Olive Smith
Tom Bateman
Dr. Adam Carlsen
Rachel Marsh
Anh Pham
Jaboukie Young-White
Malcolm Browne
Nicholas Duvernay
Jeremy Langley
Arty Froushan
Dr. Thomas Benton
Jeananne Goossen
Dr. Juliet Aslan
Court is in session
Put The Love Hypothesis on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.