At a bustling New York publishing house that’s recently undergone a merger of two rival companies, executive assistants from either side Lucy Hutton (Lucy Hale) and Joshua Templeman (Austin Stowell) are office foes. There’s seemingly an end in sight for their HR-provoking rivalry when they go head-to-head for the same managing director role, and Lucy vows to quit if Josh is promoted to her boss.
Based on The Hating Game novel by Sally Thorne, the film is faithful to the book without being a word-for-word remake. Some additions add to Lucy and Josh’s world, like their comically different desk aesthetics, and some we could have lived without (the Smurf fanfiction).
At times the adaptation is going for self-aware – it’s acknowledged early on that Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell are far too attractive for any normal person to assume they’re not flirting – but not quite enough to explain why the relationship was undercooked. Viewers going in with fresh eyes might wonder why these two hotties are being so dang extra all the time.
The most welcome part of this adaptation was Damon Daunno’s character, Danny, who unlike in the book, is a viable love interest and a total marshmallow, becoming a real confidant to our heroine. Props to Daunno, who’s usually found tearing up Broadway but made a welcome appearance on the silver screen.
The ending was adorable and gave readers some insight into what Lucy and Josh’s future would look like after the culmination of the novel.
Verdict: Worth a watch for fans of the book but would probably do better on Netflix. 2.5 stars.
The Hating Game is showing at Hoyts Cinemas.
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