The Hating Game

After two publishing houses merge, Lucy and Joshua work as assistant managers at facing desks in the same room. They hate each other and they are competing for the same promotion. It is adapted from Sally Thorne's novel, written by Christina Mengert and directed by Peter Hutchings, shot by Noah Greenberg with music by Spencer Hutchings. Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell star. When the project was announced in May 2019 Robbie Amell was attached; scheduling conflicts meant Stowell replaced him in November 2020. Shooting took place during the pandemic in upstate New York from 21 November to 23 December 2020. Rotten Tomatoes has 68 percent of 28 reviews positive with a well-balanced consensus: a dismayingly retrograde approach to the battle of the sexes, often offset by the sparkling chemistry between two well-matched leads. Vertical Entertainment gave it a limited theatrical release and it took 294,625 dollars. Who it is for: viewers who like enemies-to-lovers and office romantic comedy. Who it is not for: anyone troubled by the power imbalance at work. The film never opens that question.