‘Materialists’ Movie Review: Celine Song’s Rom-Com Is Smarter And More Wistful Than The Norm
Photo from A24
From Jeremy Kibler
Without sounding like Carrie Bradshaw, writer-director Celine Song’s Materialists can’t help but wonder: do we marry for love, or for money? This is a refreshingly honest, intelligent, and wistful romantic comedy for adults, as in it’s about relationships that end over money and relationships being based on net worth (and height). In the modern dating world, we can’t help but have standards, expectations, and non-negotiables, so is it old-fashioned to still believe in having an actual connection with someone else? In this economy?
Dakota Johnson is her likable self but a little more spiky as Lucy, a professional matchmaker in New York City who has cracked the numbers game. She helps the most elite clients find the ideal partner, based on looks and income. Lucy is so good at her job that she celebrates nine successful marriages at her firm. At the wedding of one of those matches, she meets and flirts with the groom’s brother, Harry (Pedro Pascal). He’s a unicorn — tall, handsome, rich, suave and, oh, rich. He checks every box. Serving them at the wedding, though, is John (Chris Evans), a cater waiter and struggling actor who also happens to be Lucy’s ex. He’s good-looking, but he’s broke, messy, and living with two roommates. John still loves Lucy, and Harry is very interested in Lucy, even though he’d be perfect for one of her clients. If only we all had the same conundrum.
Though it’s decidedly more thoughtful, Materialists still has the shape and structure of a traditional romantic comedy or even a classical Jane Austen romance with a glossy, sophisticated New York. (And it’s the New York you want to live in, thanks to Shabier Kirchner’s warm, gorgeously composed cinematography and Katina Danabassis’ chic costume design.) Like Song’s perfectly soulful and gentle 2023 feature debut Past Lives, there is something of a love triangle here, but that isn’t where the emotional stakes primarily lie. Lucy could really end up with either man, and neither one is made out to be the villain or the flaw-free hero. There is a dramatic turn the film takes that would seem too jarring on paper, but it goes with the territory of dating in the real world and makes Lucy rethink her reliability as a matchmaker, especially for women. It also helps that the subplot involves Zoë Winters, an appealing find who’s heartbreaking in the part of Sophie, one of Lucy’s picky clients.
Lucy is a great fit for the lovable Dakota Johnson, who gets to be charming and quick-witted but also cold and cynical. Both Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans manage to be magnetic and empathetic as Harry and John, and it’s nice to see Evans playing a little against-type as a sloppier, less-motivated romantic partner.
Song’s film is more languid and melancholy than the snappy, fizzy rom-com one might be expecting—and more technically sound—but her script is nuanced and beautifully written. While the “rom” is more prevalent than the “com,” the film is still funny on occasion, particularly during montages of Lucy sitting down with her unreasonably choosy clients, not unlike the fourth-wall asides in the early episodes of Sex and the City. Initially, the narrative device to bookend the film is a curious choice, one almost expecting Helen Mirren from Barbie to narrate with a sardonic self-awareness, but how it comes together is a perfect button.
Materialists makes clear-eyed, pragmatic observations about dating and relationships, while still giving us the sleek, sexy pleasures we want. The characters are allowed to be selfish, shallow and, well, materialistic. They’re flawed human beings after all, speaking their minds about what they actually want, but there’s also a generosity to some characters whom we think we have figured out. If moviegoers are seeking hard truths in their NYC romances with beautiful people, this is more than a frothy escape.
Rating: 3.5/5
Materialists is currently in theaters.
