Love Hard’s Story Is A Dangerous Message, Not A Christmas Romance

Love Hard carries a dangerous message inside its otherwise typical Christmas romance story. Directed by Costa Rican stand-up comedian Hernán Jiménez, Love Hard is Netflix’s latest romantic comedy, following a Los Angeles column writer Natalie Bauer as she goes on one nightmarish date after the other. Just as she is getting tired of the modern dating scene, Natalie meets and matches with her perfect man, Josh Lin. Unfortunately, her surprise visit over the holidays goes sideways when she discovers she has been catfished, and Josh has in fact stolen his schoolmate Tag’s identity.

The Vampire Diaries’ lead Nina Dobrev plays the charming Natalie, while Jimmy O. Yang of the comedy series Silicon Valley stars opposite her as Josh, whereas Never Have I Ever‘s Darren Barnet plays Tag. Set against the backdrop of online dating pitfalls, Love Hard reinforces the idea of perfection going beyond physical appearances. With a blend of predictable rom-com plot and a Hallmark-esque sensibility, Love Hard’s ending concludes on a “happily ever after” note, with its main characters falling in love, despite the many obstacles thrown at them throughout the preceding one and a half hours. However, given the film’s context, this sends out a dangerous message.

At the end of Love Hard, Natalie chooses to stay with Josh, despite her getting catfished and repeatedly expressing her distrust of his character. Critics and viewers are quick to point out that although the film is a rom-com, the plot justifies and even rewards catfishing. Instead of painting Josh in a negative light to reflect how he deceived Natalie, Love Hard portrays him as the underdog riddled with insecurities and anxieties. Asking for Natalie and the viewers’ sympathy, Josh’s catfishing arguments are anchored on how he is a victim of people valuing conventionally attractive appearances more — which he lacks, unfortunately. Similar to the conclusion of the Cyrano de Bergerac-inspired Netflix film Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, Love Hard compensates for Josh’s actions when Natalie falls in love with the real him, suggesting that perhaps taking another person’s identity may be a gateway to a happy ending.

For a movie that is supposedly promoting an emphasis on character development rather than the physical aspect, Love Hard underutilizes its heroine and shifts her narrative negatively. During her surprise engagement party with Josh, she reveals her side of the story. Understandably, the attendees are in shock, but the blame and burden of Josh’s actions are placed more on Natalie’s shoulders just because she dared to do the same thing with Tag. Of course, her pretentious behavior is obnoxious; however, her resolution is underwhelming. While Josh grows to accept himself and to pursue his passion, Natalie simply learns to look and love beyond physical attraction. Josh is forgiven and eventually loved for catfishing, but Natalie is frowned upon.

As part of the romantic comedy genre revival, Love Hard sticks to its formulaic narrative of love trumping literally everything else: history, mistakes, motivations, etc. What could have been a better, more acceptable ending for the film is Natalie learning to be patient and content with herself until she is assured of the man she likes. She should not have ended up with the man she cannot fully trust — a stronger message Love Hard could have sent out to the world, especially in the age of social media.

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