5 Best Movies Like The Love Hypothesis

Prime Video

There was never any doubt that Lili Reinhart's rom-com "The Love Hypothesis" would become a big hit for Prime Video. Streaming platforms have struck gold by taking romance books and turning them into comforting crowd-pleasers for the small screen. Sometimes this results in films as vapid as "My Fault: London," but often it results in charming movies that take allow us to indulge romantic fantasies via two hot people falling in love.

That's exactly what we got when "The Love Hypothesis" transformed from "Star Wars" fan fiction, of all things, into a novel and then a streaming movie. Ali Hazelwood's book about a biology PhD student who pretends to date her professor, only for the two to fall deeply in love became a hit, and was promptly given a film adaptation in which Reinhart plays the student, Olive Smith, while British actor Tom Bateman plays the ornery professor, Dr. Adam Carlsen. 

There were two main tropes to both the book and the film: mismatched lovers who cross a boundary to be together, and the good old fake relationship that becomes very real. Of course, this is far from the first time these tropes have been used in romance movies, which is why it's actually quite easy to recommend films just like "The Love Hypothesis." While there are plenty of golden-age romance movies that used these plot devices (1941's "Come Live with Me" saw James Stewart and Hedy Lamarr fake a marriage only to fall head over heels), we're betting that fans of Reinhart's movie will want more modern examples. With that in mind, here's a list of the best movies like "The Love Hypothesis."

Netflix

"My Oxford Year" may have a controversial ending but it's got everything you could want from a modern-day streaming flick based on a book. Melodrama and fairytale romance combine in this Netflix movie, which stars Sofia Carson (who's fast becoming the streamer's go-to romantic drama leading lady) as American exchange student Anna De La Vega. Before descending into a life of corporate drudgery, Anna decides to study Victorian poetry at the University of Oxford for a year. Wouldn't you know it, once there she meets an unreasonably charming and handsome English DPhil student and tutor named Jamie Davenport (Corey Mylchreest).

"My Oxford Year" shares much in common with "The Love Hypothesis." Not only are both based on books (though the former actually began as a screenplay before it was adapted into a novel), they both feature a student/teacher relationship that gets off to a rough start only to flourish into a modern-day fairytale. Both also feature strapping English leading men (though Bateman plays an American in "The Love Hypothesis") who start out as jerks only to reveal a tender side as things progress.

It is worth noting that there's a tragic element to "My Oxford Year," so if you're looking for something that wraps up as neatly as "The Love Hypothesis," this might not be the ideal watch. But otherwise fans of Lily Reinhart's movie should fall madly in love with Carson's alternative.

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

These streaming movies are all well and good but there has to be at least one undisputed classic on this list. There's no better example of the fake relationship trope than this 1990 romantic comedy in which we got to see prime-era Richard Gere and Julia Roberts fall for one another. The movie did what "The Love Hypothesis" and its fellow streaming-age rom-coms did decades before Netflix was even a thing, bringing together impossibly beautiful stars via a fake relationship that blossoms into the real thing.

If you don't know the plot of what might just be Julia Roberts' best movie, I'm not sure what to tell ya. He's a corporate raider, she's a sex worker he asks for directions. So begins a love affair that sees Gere's Edward Lewis paying Roberts' Vivian Ward to spend a week with him and act as his girlfriend. Needless to say, this confected relationship becomes a real one. Ward melts Lewis' cold corporate heart and Lewis draws out the real Ward from behind a wall of dissociation built up over her time spent as a sex worker.

If you're somehow yet to see the film, and are worried the tale of a millionaire corporate raider falling for a sex worker might not have the wholesome charm of "The Love Hypothesis," don't worry. There's a reason Roger Ebert called the film "the sweetest and most openhearted love fable since 'The Princess Bride.'" "Pretty Woman" is as romantic a comedy as they come. But beyond that, it somehow manages to feel grounded thanks to its multi dimensional characters, without compromising the fairytale romance aspect.

Netflix

Sofia Carson will soon have a monopoly on streaming romance movies. Her 2025 romantic drama "The Life List" dominated Netflix just prior to the similarly successful release of "My Oxford Year." But before either of these movies, Carson made her Netflix romance debut with the 2022 film "Purple Hearts." Guess what — the whole thing was based on a book, Tess Wakefield's 2017 novel of the same name.

In "Purple Hearts" we get a modern day version of James Stewart's "Come Live with Me." This Carson-led love story sees the former Disney Channel star play diabetic waitress and musician Cassie Salazar, who's working herself ragged just to afford insulin. Her salvation arrives in the form of hunky Marine Luke Morrow (Nicholas Galitzine), who agrees to marry Cassie so she can gain health coverage and he can benefit from a pay bump. You can see where this is going.

Much like with "The Love Hypothesis," this is a story about a couple who agree to act as though they're together only to develop real feelings along the way. There's plenty of BookTok-style melodrama on display here, too, which should please anyone who enjoyed the tension of the third act fall-out in "The Love Hypothesis."

Sony Pictures Releasing

It's the film that made Glen Powell a star and proved Sydney Sweeney could make popular stuff outside of "Euphoria." If your favorite thing about "The Love Hypothesis" was watching two attractive people make out, then "Anyone But You" should be right up your alley. In fact, "Anyone But You" is arguably the apotheosis of the modern day two-hot-actors-fall-in-love rom-com. But there's a stronger connection between this film and "The Love Hypothesis."

Lily Reinhart's Olive Smith and Tom Bateman's Dr. Adam Carlsen agreed to fake a relationship for mutually beneficial reasons, and the same happens with Sweeney's Beatrice Messina and Powell's Ben. The duo pretend to be a couple so that Bea's parents will stop trying to repair her relationship with her ex, and Ben can make his own ex jealous. We all knew where it was going from the very beginning but that didn't make it any less enjoyable to watch.

Unlike with "The Love Hypothesis," the guy in this romantic comedy isn't a complete jerk. Full of himself, maybe, but not an anti-social hermit like Bateman's "Dr. Evil." Still, he and Sweeney's law student don't exactly get along, especially after their first meeting ended on awkward terms. That, alongside the fake relationship trope, gives Powell and Sweeney's couple a similar dynamic to that of Olive and Adam in "The Love Hypothesis." So if you somehow missed the unlikely box office smash that was "Anyone But You" back in 2024, now's the time to remedy that.

Netflix

In 2018, "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" became the new gold standard for teen rom-coms. It also happens to be a nice little companion to "The Love Hypothesis." Based on a book? Check. Fake relationship trope? Check. Academic setting? Sort of check. Rather than college, this tale of teen love, adapted from Jenny Han's YA novel, plays out in high school, where Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) writes secret letters to her crushes. Of course, she never intends for any of them to read her missives, but guess what — that's exactly what happens.

Lara Jean's biggest crush is Josh Sanderson (Israel Broussard), and when she sees him approaching with his letter in hand, she kisses another one of the letter recipients, Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) in an attempt to throw Josh off. Soon, Peter and Lara Jean are fake dating. This allows the former to distract from the embarrassment of Josh receiving a letter, and the latter to make his ex-girlfriend Gen (Emilija Baranac) jealous. But you know how this goes. Real romance develops, melodrama ensues, feelings get hurt. 

"To All the Boys I've Loved Before" is, however, more than your standard BookTook phenomenon turned Netflix romance movie. The film is surprisingly well shot, retains a heartfelt sensibility throughout, and isn't afraid to embrace its classic fake relationship rom-com influences. It's a touching little high school melodrama that's well worth a watch for anyone who even remotely enjoyed "The Love Hypothesis."