I've watched a couple of things this month that were really good! I did want to write individual reviews for them, but I didn't have the time, so I thought I'd condense it into a small monthly review.
The Love Hypothesis (2026, Prime Video, Movie)
The Love Hypothesis is a romance movie about a grad research student, Olive Smith, and a professor, Dr. Adam Carlsen at Stanford University pretending to date to both get what they want. The film is based on a book with the same name written by Ali Hazelwood. The movie stars Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman as Olive Smith and Dr. Adam Carlsen. The movie is available to stream on Prime Video.
My first thought after watching was that it was "cute". It's not a bad movie, but I also don't consider it a timeless rom-com of the 2020's. (My mind could change over time) I have a very huge bias with this movie because I loved the book when I first read it 5 years ago. It's a very special book for me, so I had very high expectations for the movie. On my first watch, I kept comparing it to the book rather than actually enjoying it. If I left my thoughts and comparisons behind, The Love Hypothesis is a good rom-com. I've been watching clips of the movie online to try and see if I feel differently, and I do. The comedic timing is great, and there's a lot of good moments that still make it worth it to watch.
Some things I enjoyed about the movie are the side characters like Olive's friends, the comedy, and the marketing of the film. Anh and Malcom are great characters to watch because they're so funny, outgoing, and supportive. Anh brought Olive along with her to everything and made sure she was always comfortable. Malcom was supportive of Adam and Olive's relationship even though he hated Adam for personal/academic reasons. They are all a really good and protective friend group. They look out for each other and try to help. The release of the movie was well done with the promotional videos, Lili Reinhart's press tour looks, and the time it came out, during the start of school. I really like when studios do that with shows and movies about school. When shows release during the time it's taking place in, it makes me excited since I know I'm going through that at the same time. Not the same story, though.
I originally hated the casting for this movie when I first learned about it. I expected Olive Smith to be a woman of color, specifically LatinX. I know everyone has their own interpretation of the characters, but for me, I based Olive on the book cover. So to see the casting for her was really upsetting. Lili Reinhart, however, really changed my mind. I think she did great as Olive Smith. While it would've been great representation, I am glad with how she played the role. Really genuine.
They didn't sell me on Tom Bateman's casting as Dr. Adam Carslen. The only scene I liked with him was the sushi date scene where we see Adam become more comfortable with Olive and let his guard down. That was the most believable time Tom Bateman played Adam. That may have to do with the writing rather than the actor himself. Or both. The story did skip some scenes from the book that are key details for Adam and how he interacts with Olive. Like how he actually liked her before the kiss (it was slightly hinted at in the movie) and why he has a mean personality. (because of his family issues with them moving constantly) I think maybe if he showed his background history as Olive did, he could've been more believable.
Overall, I like The Love Hypothesis. I get excited whenever I see the ads for it on my TV or phone because I think it's so cool they made the book into a movie. I still do recommend the movie regardless because it's a simple rom-com that is entertaining to watch.
Rating: 8/10
Best of the Best (2026, Netflix, Movie)
Best of the Best is a coming-of-age movie about two desi-americans, Maya and Anjali, starting college and joining the Bollywood Collegiate dance team. The movie stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Hasan Minhaj and Priyanka Kedia. The movie was written by Hasan Minhaj and is available to stream on Netflix.
Oh, I love this movie. It was so funny and entertaining, and I really enjoyed watching it. The writing was really good at showing the popularity of Bollywood dance in the Western world. It represented young Desi Americans and how they're navigating how to fit in while also maintaining their roots. We see it with all the characters, but mostly in Maya (Ramakrishnan) and Anjali (Kedia) Maya is hyper-independent and ambitious, showing it with her passion and intelligence in school and the dance group. And Anjali is in school and the dance club to find herself and understand who she wants to be. I did feel bad for Anjali though, because of her mom forcing her to be someone she isn't. She wanted to explore and learn about herself more. But she did stand up for herself in the end and started to figure out who she wants to be and what she wants. I didn't like how Anjali blew off her online quiz to go to the spa and ditch Maya, her childhood friend, for some new girls. Online quizzes are so easy to do anywhere, so I don't understand why she asked Maya to do hers. I just hated that a lot.
A bunch of things I liked about the movie were the dances, the relatability, and comedy. The choreography for the dances was so good. The way they were made and presented shows how much of a passion project this is compared to some simple movie. They put effort into this. There's a bunch of references to modern desi jokes like the unfortunate history of incestual relationships, the dislike between India and Pakistan, the stereotype for FOB's (Fresh off the boat), and British imperialism and colonization. I can relate to all of these things because they're all topics discussed online and in desi communities. It serves as comedic relief in the movie, but it's still nice to see it on screen because we also joke about those topics. They all landed perfectly and brought so much joy knowing that we're all the same.
Best of the Best is a great movie and has a good vibe around it. It's very heartfelt, sweet, and the representation is great. My favorite character is Maya, but Anjali is great too. None of the serious topics were brushed off, like Maya not being the lead dancer in the beginning because of her ambition, and Anjali realizing her privilege and how she didn't have to work as hard compared to Maya. They both overcame and learned from it and ended up being stronger and more aware. I highly recommend watching this movie. It's so fun and exciting to see.
Rating: 10/10
The Neighborhood (2018 - 2026, TV Series, CBS)
The Neighborhood is a sitcom about two neighbors and their friendship. It follows their adventures, problems, and bond as individual families and a community together. The show stars Cedric the Entertainer, Tichina Arnold, Beth Behrs, and Max Greenfield. It aired on CBS from 2018 - 2022 and is available to stream on Paramount +.
Each storyline they have is really good, like Gemma's miscarriage, Malcoms struggle with racial inequality and police brutality, and Dave's attempt at becoming a city councillor. However, they also abandon storylines easily because they would reflect a larger change in the show. Like Marty getting married and also Gemma's pregnancy turned miscarriage. Marty's relationship and marriage would've been a really fun dynamic and new storyline to add. We already saw a bit of that with Tina hanging out with Neice, Marty's fiancée, and I'm sure there could've been more moments like that with the rest of the Bulters. It really upset me how they threw Marty's relationship away. It felt like they didn't want to actually go through with it because they don't want real change and a new dynamic in the show. I brought up how I liked Gemma's pregnancy turned miscarriage because that is a storyline we don't see a lot of representation of in shows and media. Usually it's all happy, but seeing how they reacted and overcame the trauma was really nice to see. I was excited to see her pregnant, but I also think it's important to highlight how the loss of a pregnancy affects the carrier and the community around them. Like Tina and Calvin's miscarriage, with Tina accepting her own loss and offering help to Gemma, and Calvin avoiding the issue because he couldn't get over his grief.
I do think it's a funny and easy-to-watch sitcom with good moments, but I know now not to get as invested because I know it can be ripped away with no real purpose or reason.
Rating: 8/10