Directed by: Peter Hutchings
Written by: Christina Mengert
Starring: Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell, Sakina Jaffrey, Corbin Bernsen
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes
In theaters and VOD December 10

by Kristian Cortez, Staff Writer

Lucy Hutton (Lucy Hale) and Joshua Templemen (Austin Stowell) hate each other. They are both executive assistants at Bexley & Gamin, a publishing house that recently had no choice but to merge into one because of financial reasons. Their desks have them positioned across from one another where every day they engage in games like “The Copycat Game” (where they, obviously, copy one another’s movements), “The Staring Game” (where they stare at each other for as long as they can until someone blinks), or “The HR Game” (when either of them says something inappropriate the other threatens to report them to HR). Lucy and Joshua are polar opposites: her desk area is messy and colorful; full of books, pens, and candy. He is clean and colorless; his papers are neatly filed away and every pen has a place. For them, it is a challenge every day to not strangle the other one before the work day is done.

This is how the first five minutes of The Hating Game, based on the best-selling novel by Sally Thorne, plays out. A lot of information is divulged to us within this short amount of time but it doesn’t come off as too much too soon. Set to the tune “Mercy” by Duffy, the five-minute sequence has got a great rhythm to it that pairs nicely with how rapidly we are cutting from scene to scene, as Lucy provides us with backstory in voiceover. The title shows on the screen and the scene that follows tells us immediately why we are entering the story at this moment. Co-CEO’s Helene (Sakina Jaffrey) and Bexley (Corbin Bernsen) announce to their employees that a new position for a managing director is opening up and that there is an opportunity for the two assistants to advance. After Lucy has a sex dream about Joshua (and after the two have a make-out session in the office elevator) things become more complicated, as it becomes increasingly unclear as to whether the two actually hate each other or are simply masking their attraction.

The film spends, pretty much its entire running time flip-flopping back and forth between whether Lucy and Joshua actually have feelings for each other, or if it’s just another game they are playing, but it never feels tiresome or unwarranted. Every time it occurs we are left feeling exactly as we are supposed to: irritated and bordering on distraught that our two main characters can’t say what’s necessary to make things right. A reaction that would not exist if it weren’t for the great pairing of Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell who are able to convincingly use their chemistry for whatever it requires. 

We believe them when they hate each other. When that hate turns to desire, we believe that too. And by the time things become tender and sincere we no longer need convincing. I’ve presented these emotions in stages but in actuality they happen within the movie all at once—under, over, and between every interaction. Making the viewing experience rather enjoyable as we work to decipher whatever mode of contact they have. Casual moviegoers are sure to be enraptured at what will happen next and fans of the book should be satisfied at the end product. As a reader of the book I can say confidently that I was.

When it comes to movies based off books, my mindset has always remained the same: I don’t mind if certain scenes get altered, changed, or left out, (a lot of what works in novel formatting doesn’t translate well to a visual medium) all I require is that the essence or overall feeling of a book stay in tact through the transition. If a movie can succeed in transferring characters from page to screen, while not sacrificing quality of story for running time, then it is a great adaptation. The Hating Game manages to fit almost every important moment from its book counterpart into the screenplay and yet it never feels like the story is moving blindingly fast or rushing from event to event. There are still moments that slow everything down and offer the audience a chance to breathe and feel whatever is taking place on screen. 

Some plot points were moved around and mixed in with other moments. Some were trimmed down in size to only a mere mention. Some were discarded altogether. And this is okay. The story on screen is still just as layered and developed as the story on paper. We spend an hour and forty minutes with these characters and they successfully come across as fully fleshed out people with flaws, baggage, and unprocessed traumas. It is still possible to see ourselves in them and empathize. And yes, there are still many opportunities to compare their height difference, worry not fellow bookreaders! 

A welcome addition to the screenplay that I had not been expecting was the comedy. There are so many more moments to laugh in this movie than there were in the book, both involving the main and side characters. Some funny moments were a bit predictable, in that we’ve seen it done before in several other movies, but it’s easy to overlook that in favor of everything else.

In a time when great romantic comedy releases are few and far between, The Hating Game is a worthy addition to the genre.