The Hating Game | A Delightful Treat

Overall rating: 8/10

Spoiler alert if you haven't read the book!

My review of the book here!

This movie has been my obsession lately and even though I'm super busy studying for exams, I knew I had to watch it as soon as it came out. I've been anticipating it madly since the trailer came out and I've got to say, it didn't disappoint. By the way, the trailer is one of the worst I've seen for a movie EVER. Literally spoils the whole entire thing. Even though I had already read the book, I had to stop about 30 seconds in because I didn't want to feel like I'd already seen the entire damn movie!

Overall for me, it's an 8/10 and I am definitely itching to watch it again. I think it will be part of my rom-com rotation of movies that I always watch every year or every two years. I was surprised by how many things they left in from the book, especially the smurfs collection, "sleepysaurus", and paintball. Lucy Hale's acting was honestly perfect for Lucy that she made Austin look a bit inferior in comparison, but overall their chemistry is 🔥 

Also, Austin's biceps 🔥🔥🔥

One of my favorite scenes in terms of cinematography, I liked how we saw Lucy through the mirror talking to Josh.

One of the more awkward moments was the paintball sequence; it felt a bit ridiculous but I think that's kinda the point? The ending also fell a bit flat to me just because all the anticipation from the book about who was getting the promotion was kind of missing but I love the end where they're arguing on the phone. Also, the soundtrack was amazing and really worked well with the movie. I've been listening to the song "Pretty" by Astrid S and Dagny on repeat since yesterday.

My favorite one-liners from the movie that genuinely made me laugh:

1. "Mommy and Daddy fight sometimes"

2. "Put that donut hole down or I'll shove it up your semicolon!"

3. "That's not the first time you've said that to a woman, is it?"

Also, bonus points for them including an accurate depiction of the elevator scene, the dream scene (and her talking to him about it), and matching her eye color to the wall. Also, the supply closet scene was pretty 🔥 

I'm glad this movie was made and I think if the movie team plays their cards right, it could be a success worldwide (although I think piracy will definitely negatively affect it). My favorite scene was when Lucy went to Josh's apartment for the first time. Least favorite scene was probably the wedding...it felt like a Hallmark Christmas movie in those parts and not in a good way. I think it needed more backstory for both Josh and Lucy.

I feel like for 1 hr 45 minutes, they really made it authentic to the book.

Overall all good vibes and happy with the result!

What did you think about the movie? Did it live up to your expectations?