Movie reviews: Hollywood and Indie, specializing in independent comedies, dramas, thrillers and romance.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Materialists: Movie Review
A romantic comedy with a cynical edge.
There are two groups of audiences: those that think it’s a romantic comedy, and those adamant not to fall for the advertising because it’s not a romantic comedy. The latter group are wrong; perhaps they think it can’t be good if it’s a romantic comedy, but that’s also not true. Materialists is a romantic comedy but one that leans into the cynicism and reality of love, romance, dating and marriage. It’s about trying to find that medium between the idealists and the pragmatists.
2025
Directed by: Celine Song
Screenplay by: Celine Song
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal
Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a matchmaker in New York City, one of those elite services where people pay a fortune and get to dictate how rich, how attractive, how tall and how smart their partner should be. Rich people can be demanding but if you do what they ask, and play the part of a rich, beautiful socialite, then you too can be a successful matchmaker, like Lucy.
One of the perks of such a job is that when you meet a client you like, you can keep them for yourself rather than pairing them up with another client. Which is exactly what Lucy decides to do when she meets Harry (Pedro Pascal) at a client’s wedding. He’s rich, tall, handsome, and educated – what more could a girl want? Perhaps a personality. The interesting complication arises when she runs into her ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans) at the same wedding. He’s a poor, struggling actor working as a cater-waiter. John is sweet and funny, but also has four roommates and lives in a walk-up apartment.
Lucy insists she’s a pragmatist, in which case, Harry is the perfect choice; he’ll be able to provide, they won’t fight over money, they will look like the perfect couple. If, on the other hand, Lucy is actually an idealist which she tries denying, then John is the right choice; they didn’t break up because they didn’t like each other, they broke up because they were constantly fighting about money – what they can afford, what they can’t afford. Now that Lucy is successful and has money, maybe it will be different. One aspect of Lucy that is particularly well handled in this movie: she’s not as rich as she appears, there are multiple subtle little things to indicate she’s living above her means.
The best part of this movie is a sub-plot which I don’t think anybody sees coming and as such I don’t think should be spoiled (most other people writing about this movie don’t feel the same way). The realities and complications of life find a way to crash the party when one of Lucy’s clients faces a dangerous, frightening and real situation. It’s how a person responds in a crisis that really reveals who the perfect partner is.
Materialists is a romantic comedy, no matter how much people want to deny it. A bit more thoughtful than it is funny, it’s also a little cynical, but the best movies have an edge to them.
