Peter Hutchings

(On Cable TV, February 2022) It’s easy to be swept up in The Hating Game. While it starts with interpersonal dynamics that feel contrived for the requirements of the plot, its fast-paced dialogue, likable leads and contemporary direction from Peter Hutchings do much to hook us in, at least long enough for the film to make good out of the finer elements of its premise. Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell make great romantic foils to each other as career-driven overachievers competing in the same publishing office, an enormous amount of sexual attraction hanging over their petty sniping while sitting at their facing desks. The film definitely takes a two-steps-forward, one-step-back approach to plotting, as nearly every significant move forward (a torrid elevator kiss, a passionate hotel-room tryst) is immediately set back by some other obstacle. The rip-roaring motormouth dialogue brings to mind screwball comedies of the 1930s, while the structure underpinning of the romance harkens back to Austen. (The Hating Game pairs up exceptionally well with Modern Persuasion if you’re looking for a great contemporary romantic comedy dual bill.)  The script, based on a novel, is hardly perfect: there’s no time to tie up some of the loose narrative ends, and much of the climax is predicated on the kind of stupid plotting (she overheard something! He never told her something! Also: Everyone conspired not to set her straight for kicks and giggles!) that feels considerably below what the film achieves elsewhere. But it all works out in the end: the weird setup, the episodic progression, the silly third act all lead where it should have led, and by the time The Hating Game wraps up, it’s a good enjoyable romantic comedy, the likes of which aren’t as frequent as they should.