Wow... Where to begin with this one? The Hating Game is a trope-filled, poorly-executed attempt at a hate-to-love office relationship, and that's being generous. Possibly one of the worst Dumpsterpieces we've watched, there is nothing redeeming about this movie (so at least you won't mind it being spoiled.) Lucy and Josh are thrown together in the merger of two publishing houses. In typical straw-man fashion, Lucy comes from the "artsy and enlightened" Gamin Books, and Josh from the "cold, corporate profit machine" of Bexley Books (which has a very crass and "toxic" male CEO). Josh Templeman is an unlikable asshole (until he's not...) and Lucy "Shortcake" Hutton is driven and just trying to make her way.
This movie has everything from a useless paintball scene where you can't tell who anyone is, to the nerdy graphic designer Danny (Toby Tucker), a discussion about a menstrual cup, and even some product placement (for interior paint?) Oh, and some more "toxic masculinity" on display with Josh's drunk dad. Imagine waking up in a fevered state with two dudes watching you sleep, that's kind of a metaphor for this whole film, but it's okay because you "hate" one of them and the other one is his doctor brother (without which you would have died.) I wonder if HE sketches stalker notes in red Sharpie about you in his journal?
So sacrifice your career, grab some meth for the bride, meet up with the creepy concierge, and let's GO GO GO to the bathroom to expunge our thoughts on this one. We're spoiling it, but in this case ... meh. Enjoy!
