The Formula for Romance: Lili Reinhart on Reviving the Rom-Com Magic in “The Love Hypothesis”
Hypothesis: If an actress primarily known for horror and drama stars in a highly anticipated romantic comedy, crowds will be sure to eagerly await the film’s release.
The Love Hypothesis, director Claire Scanlon’s adaptation of Ali Hazelwood’s romance novel, with a script from Sarah Rothschild, centers on two scientists testing the ultimate theory: love. The film’s casting has garnered tons of online excitement since the leads were first announced in the summer of 2025.
Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman star opposite each other as Olive Smith and Dr. Adam Carlsen. He is a broody, moody professor who has a reputation for making students cry, and she is a quirky, determined PhD student in many ways his polar opposite. Thus, they are the perfect test subjects for their study on love.
Coming off the heels of the cult horror Forbidden Fruits and her longstanding role as Betty Cooper on the CW’s Riverdale, Reinhart says she’s enjoyed doing a press tour where, for once, she’s “talking about love.”
“Tom and I have been saying it’s really nice to do a movie in a press tour where you’re talking about love the whole time.”
Early and mid-2000s films like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 13 Going on 30, 27 Dresses, and other classics are often synonymous with peak romantic comedies. Reinhart says these films inspired her growing up.
“I grew up watching Keira Knightley period piece movies and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette,” she says. “I love those world-building movies.”
Films like these often feature a simple but compelling plot, adorable montages, beautiful monologues where one character boldly confesses their love for another, and happy endings. But like many other fans of the genre, Reinhart says it’s been hard to replicate that early 2000s nostalgia in modern romantic comedy films.
“I grew up watching romantic comedies,” Reinhart says. “And in the last 10 to 15 years, I really haven’t watched that many.”
She says this role and this movie reignited her passion.
“Filming this movie really made me fall in love with the genre again.”
So much so that her press tour outfits have made headlines for paying homage to many of the famous leading ladies who came before her. From Brittany Murphy’s floral gown in Uptown Girls, to Sandra Bullock’s famous lavender look in Miss Congeniality, Reinhart has dazzled fans and delighted rom-com lovers worldwide.
“My stylist Ib [Abdel Nasser] and I thought it would be just fun and playful to pay homage to women in romantic comedies and romance,” she explains. “To pay tribute to women that I grew up watching and seeing and loving, and re-loving as I’ve been watching the movies again in the last year. So it’s really just out of appreciation for the genre that brings so many people comfort and joy and happiness, including myself.”
As a former Riverdale darling and outspoken advocate for women’s health and rights, Reinhart cultivated a large fan base early in her career among young millennials and Gen Z audiences. But this film and role could soon propel her to mainstream fame.
As an actress, Reinhart says she is drawn more to characters and scripts than genres. But “talking about love and this press tour” has piqued her interest in pursuing more romance films.
“I’m definitely super interested in continuing to do movies like this,” she says. “But it always has to be a great story, and it has to be a great woman that I’m playing.”
Perhaps one day, we’ll see Reinhart on the big screen in a 15th-century gown.
“I really do yearn to film a period piece romance,” she says. “It’s always been my dream.”
Check out our video interview with Reinhart below. The Love Hypothesis is now streaming on Prime Video.
Featured image: Lili Reinhart in “The Love Hypothesis.” Photo by Philippe Bosse/philippebosse.com
