Yes, another romantic comedy.  As is probably expected, The Hating Game is not much different than its cinematic cousins.  Further, the title gave me trepidation as a practicing Catholic.  Hatred is not a game, and repeatedly love is described in the Bible in simple, childlike terms.  Though we have philosophized about such matters for centuries, the first and last commandment is to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and mind above all else.  In the opening minutes of the film, there is a quote that slightly increased my anxiety, where the female lead, Lucy Hutton (Lucy Hale), narrates her theory as to the similarities between love and hate.  Given how I started this review, you can rightly surmise that she ends up contradicting this claim.  Getting there is a familiar path, frustrating in its ups and downs, slightly inappropriate at times in its tone, but altogether just fair.

What is not fair is The Hating Game going on between Lucy and Joshua “Josh” Templeman (Austin Stowell).  They are co-workers at a publishing company that recently underwent a merger.  The side of the business from which Lucy comes is the original enterprise, which cared more about good literature than what would make the most money.  That is sweet, but not the best business model.  Hence, their chief executive officer (CEO), Helene (Sakina Jaffrey), brought in entrepreneur Richard Bexley (Corbin Bernsen) to help the business’ flagging fortunes.  With Richard came Josh, and since Josh and Lucy are the assistants to their respective bosses, they sit in desks opposite each other.  Though Lucy had originally tried to be friendly with Josh, his cold attitude and the fact that he fired many of her friends led to them becoming workplace enemies.  Turning up the tension between them is the announcement that a new position for the company is being created, and this managing director will be second only to Richard and Sakina.  Though there will be other candidates, Josh and Lucy presume the two of them will be the primary options since they hope to hire from among their current staff.  During one of their fraught elevator rides, they each vow to get rid of the other if they should get the promotion.  It is also close to Thanksgiving, and as they are packing up to go home the day before, he predicts that she will be spending the evening alone playing with her Smurf collection, one of her idiosyncrasies.  While personal, it turns out to be uncannily accurate, and proves how much he is in her head.  That night, she also has an inappropriate dream about him.  The next time they are in the office, she decides to try and mess with his mental space by dressing in an expensive looking dress for going out, claiming that she has a date.  He calls her bluff, forcing her to ask the nerdy Danny (Damon Daunno) for drinks.  As Josh and Lucy are leaving for the night, they exchange an intense gaze that leads to them making out with each other.  In the aftermath, neither of them knows quite what to do, though he offers her a ride to where she is meeting Danny.  In short, they attempt to carry on as if nothing happened despite it being clear that things are different.  In the office, the feud continues, with Lucy being annoyed that Josh’s idea for a team building activity is chosen over hers.  During this paintball outing, it is Josh that notices that Lucy is not feeling well.  When she throws up as their outing concludes, it is he who brings her home and nurses her for the next few days.  He even has his physician brother, Dr. Patrick “Pat” Templeman (Nicholas Baroudi), come to examine her.  As soon as she is able to get out of bed, she is somewhat disturbed to find that Josh has cleaned her apartment, leading to another cooling in relations.  Once they are back at work, though she tries to communicate, it is marred when Danny appears despite no longer working for the company.  In asking why Josh is shut down, Lucy is told essentially that she must choose between him and Danny.  Lucy has one more dinner with Danny to make this decision, and it is clear that there is more chemistry with Josh.  Yet, when she goes to his place and essentially throws herself at him, he turns her down.  For a moment, this Catholic thought that maybe chastity will win the day, but, alas, I was mistaken.  For the moment, though, she is once again confused until another few days pass and he shows up at her door.  She had promised that she would go with him to Pat’s wedding.  Her initial response is tell Josh no, but he proposes that it would make them even for his nurse duties.  It is not long after checking into their hotel room that they do what I had hoped would be avoided.  Because Hollywood logic sadly suggests that this is what love means, she ultimately defends him to his father, who is disappointed that Josh did not become a doctor like Pat.  Upon getting home, he professes his love for her, admitting that most women treat him as a one-night stand.  As momentous of an evening this was for them, the next morning at work she overhears Josh and Richard discussing strategy that seems to suggest that Josh had been playing with her feelings to get ahead in the company.  Without consulting him, she chooses to work hard on her presentation for when she interviews for the promotion, and their relationship is again put on hold.  After an impressive interview, she walks by the conference where everyone is seemingly clapping for Josh.  She gives her congratulations, but it is then that he reveals that he has taken a position with a competing publishing house and that she had gotten the job.  Additionally, it had all been a part of his plan the entire time.  Everything is forgiven, and the inevitable kisses conclude our story.

Whenever you see the promotional material for a film like The Hating Game, with the female and male leads prominent, it is usually inevitable that they will end up together.  Then again, what else are you going to put on movie posters?  Also, how else can one tell a love story?  I have railed against the sameness of romantic comedies, and such criticisms are justifiable.  At the same time, despite my own struggles in this department, I enjoy love on the big screen.  Perhaps it is because I have not been successful do I prefer cinematic versions because of their idealized presentation.  At the same time, I cannot ignore the role my Faith plays in those thoughts.  For whatever reason, society does not like idealized representations of anything, especially love.  Of course, if one looks at how relationships are presented in culture and expects their own experience to be the same, then even this romantic would say that is unrealistic.  Yet, does love get any more idealistic than Faith?  It calls us to a higher purpose, to set aside ourselves and serve Him for the benefit of our souls and others.  Now, if you see this movie, or get a sense of it from my synopsis, you might think there is little idealism in it.  While Josh is somewhat more reserved, they behave like randy teenagers throughout much of the film.  From this perspective, there is little out of the ordinary, a case of art imitating life.  It is in how Josh treats Lucy that we get more of the extraordinary that makes this picture somewhat tolerable.  Instead of desiring a fling with Lucy, he takes his time to get to know her.  Though it does not always look this way, ultimately he is forgiving of her faults, which is Christ-like.  If one could take away the physical aspects of their relationship, you would have the kind of romance any Christian could support.

I want to support your decision to see The Hating Game if you so choose, but it is complicated.  Like I said, I had hopes that when he did not immediately sleep with her, that it was because he was saving that moment for something special like marriage.  I was mistaken.  While it is by no means raunchy, it is short of ideal.  Hence, call this a mixed reaction.