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Love Hard is one of those cheesy holiday romantic comedies that - no matter how predictable - tug at your heart-string. The story follows the life of Natalie, a woman who has been very unsuccessful with online dating and her quest to find true love, which even takes her 3000 miles from LA to Lake Placid.
Here are our takeaways from the movie and why we think it may have an endearing message hidden beneath all the cliches.
'Love Hard': What is a perfect guy?
Love Hard has beautifully tackled the concept of the perfect guy. Who is the perfect guy? More importantly, is there a perfect guy? The answer is no. Love Hard tells you to find your perfect guy instead of running after the dream match.
Natalie is a career-driven woman who intelligently markets her disastrous love life, making a career out of writing about it. Despite many failures, she still hasn't given up on love and finding the perfect man.
She fails once again when she flies to Lake Placid to meet the man she met online and who she thought was her dream match, only to realize she had been catfished. Yet another disaster. But it doesn't end there. Josh, the guy who catfished her, makes a deal with her. He would set her up with Tag, the person whose pictures he had been using instead of his own, in his dating profile.
In return, Natalie agrees to be his girlfriend for Christmas. In an unfortunate turn of events, things go horribly wrong. Their secret is exposed and their charade falls apart. Natalie prepares to leave but is made to realize that Josh may not be the perfect guy, but he was indeed perfect for her.
Natalie turns up at Josh's with placards, making a grand declaration of her love. She expresses how Josh is the perfect guy for her, and that she just didn't realize it before because she was so caught up in running after Tag.
Going beyond the stereotype
What makes Love Hard so interesting? Love Hard upgrades from the stereotypical Hollywood portrayal of Asian men as nerdy and unable to find love. Instead, it brings to the spotlight the nerdy Asian guy who steps up to be the romantic lead of the story.
Despite the tropey storyline and predictable ending, Love Hard is a delight to watch. If you love binging on rom-coms, this may be the perfect watch for you to get into the festive mood of Christmas and the season of love. Catch Love Hard streaming on Netflix today.
