The Best Relationship in the Love Hypothesis Isn’t Olive and Adam
As you can probably guess by the name, The Love Hypothesis is, indeed, a story about love. But the best love story isn’t the one you think.
The movie centres around Olive Smith, a PhD student who makes an unusual arrangement with Dr. Adam Carlsen — though he’s better known among the students as ‘Dr. Evil’ for his abrupt nature and cutthroat approach to academia. The unlikely duo both have something to get out of this fake dating arrangement — but one thing these two scientists didn’t predict was the effect that they had on each other. And sure, it was a cute dynamic, but it wasn’t actually my favourite relationship from the film. For me, that prize goes to Olive and her best friend, Anh.
When it comes to rom-coms, female friendships can be a difficult thing to master. The ‘best friend’ is often reduced to a vessel for well-timed quip or a string of surface-level platitudes when needed. Worst of all, there can also be those female friends that are framed as ‘frenemies’ that compete with the lead for the same goal and/or man. The good news is, The Love Hypothesis has none of this. However, it should be noted that there are spoilers ahead, so consider yourself warned.
Why Friendship Wins In The Love Hypothesis
As I mentioned in my other piece about the feminist message behind The Love Hypothesis, Anh immediately makes an impression on Olive by encouraging her to sit with her at the front, telling her that, as women in STEM, “we’re not here to hide.” It quickly establishes a wholesome dynamic that just serves to show why women uplifting other women is so important, and from there, the pair’s bond continues to grow.
The fact that Anh introduced Olive to her social group and continued to include her might not seem like a lot, but as someone who grew up introverted, I can say with confidence that this kind of gesture can go a long way. It can be difficult to integrate when you don’t feel like you belong, but what Anh does time and time again is demonstrate that Olive does belong, whether that be at a party, a lecture hall, and even at her family Christmas gathering, which she invited Olive to after figuring out that she was spending the holidays alone.
This leads me on to my next point about the pair’s friendship: Anh is especially intuitive of her friend. At multiple points in the film, she guesses exactly what Olive is up to, like working in the lab alone or, spoiler alert, that she’s pretending to be in a whole relationship.
In fact, the fake relationship itself is the biggest indicator of how strong Olive and Anh’s bond is. The catalyst of it all is Olive discovering that Anh rejected a mutual friend romantically after realising that Olive had a crush on him. Two women crushing on the same guy is an all-too-common trope in rom-coms, but I think this is perhaps one of the only movies where the women put their friendships first.
Sacrifice Work Both Ways in The Love Hypothesis
Of course, Olive recognises that, touching as it may be, her best friend shouldn’t sacrifice her own happiness just to keep her happy. This is what spurs her on to do the whole fake relationship thing in the process, which, while arguably misguided, shows just how important her best friend is to her. And Anh’s initial decision to not date Olive’s crush shows that this feeling is mutual.
The pair never fail to show up for each other in both big and small ways, and with this in mind, it is no stretch to say that Olive and Anh’s friendship is this movie’s anchor and its true emotional core.
Most of all, The Love Hypothesis reminds us that love can appear in many forms, and while romantic relationships are nice and all, the most important person in your life is probably your best friend. When everything else is in flux, they are an unwavering constant, and shouldn’t be taken for granted. So, sure, yearn for the hot professor all you want. But don’t forget to call your best friend, too.
