Greetings again from the darkness. This year’s batch of Hallmark Christmas movies hasn’t hit yet, so for those fans, here’s the next best thing … a Romantic Comedy based on the New York Times bestseller written by Ali Hazelwood. Directed by prolific TV director Claire Scanlon, with an adapted screenplay by Sarah Rothschild, the film delivers easy comedy with a burst of ‘Girl Power’.
Lili Reinhart (CHEMICAL HEARTS, 2020) stars as Olive, a junk food junkie fighting anxiety over her Grad School interview when we first meet her. This anxiety acts as an internal battle for the brilliant researcher committed to finding a treatment for pancreatic cancer, the disease that took her mother. Once on campus at Stanford, Olive is quickly befriended by the much more outgoing Anh (Rachel Marsh, “Unstable”). The story’s ‘conflict’ occurs when Olive realizes she and Anh have a crush on the same guy, Jeremy (Nicholas Duvernay, “The White Lotus”). Being the grateful and dutiful friend she is, Olive yields the lust to Anh via a most awkward interaction with Dr. Adam Carlsen (Tom Bateman, DEATH ON THE NILE, 2022).
Soon, ‘Dr Evil’ (as Carlsen is known by students) and Olive have struck up a mutually beneficial “fake dating” agreement, complete with rules and regulations. This arrangement allows Dr. Carlsen to pursue the professional advancement he requires, while Olive can ensure that BFF Anh and Jeremy are unencumbered to pursue romance. It’s a win-win, except, of course (and obviously), fake dating rarely stays fake. The necessary complication arrives in the form of Dr Thomas Benton (Arty Froushan, “Daredevil: Born Again”) who fulfills the role of scummy, misogynistic male who abuses his position of power.
This is a Girl Power story told in a rom-com the traditional rom-com style, which makes it a challenge for some of us to appreciate. Reportedly, author Hazelwood used Rey from the Star Wars movies as inspiration for Olive. In a touch of synchronicity, Daisy Ridley (who played Rey) is married to Tom Bateman. It’s not difficult to imagine this as a more real-life drama, which means the story is one worth telling. As a bonus, the best line in the movie is, “Carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white guy”, and that made me laugh.
Premieres on Prime Video on September 23, 2026
Posted by David Ferguson 
Movie Reviews from the Dark 