Materialists

[Don’t insert a Madonna song in the lead so you don’t seem like a basic bitch, but rather a deep philosopher who’s smarter than everyone else]

It seems like an Oscar nomination opens many doors — and in the case of Celine Song, her sophomore film Materialists assembles a rather striking ensemble to offer a fresh reinterpretation of the romantic comedy. But how fresh is it, really?

Materialists tells the story of Lucy, a successful New York matchmaker who pairs demanding, high-achieving women with equally successful, demanding, and preferably wealthy bachelors. At one of her clients’ weddings, she meets a charismatic man who immediately takes interest in her. He's rich, successful, and carries the poise of someone who has made it. Everything seems to align — until Lucy’s ex re-enters the picture, a man with whom she shared an intense, messy, real love. And now, Lucy finds herself at a crossroads, navigating both her past and present while confronting what dating and modern relationships truly mean today.

Let’s be fair — the premise isn’t groundbreaking. It’s another riff on the Cinderella story, though this time our Cinderella is practical, modern, and somewhat obsessed with “date math” — the probability theories behind romantic relationships. At its heart, the film explores how people assign value to themselves and to their partners, and how they navigate the idea of relationships and marriage as social constructs that still persist in the 21st century. It’s about strategic unions, marriages formed for reasons beyond love. And it’s about the difficult choice between a true — albeit inconvenient — love and a seemingly ideal yet emotionally hollow attachment.

Song promises a modern reinvention of the rom-com, with stylistic nods to early 2000s classics. But just like with her debut Past Lives, this promise doesn’t quite land. I remember going into Past Lives after hearing nothing but praise from everyone around me — how deep, how revolutionary, how profound it was supposed to be in its portrayal of love and human connection. But when I finally saw it, I found it overly simplistic. Song had deconstructed the romantic drama so thoroughly that she couldn’t quite reassemble it into a satisfying whole. The same issue plagues Materialists.

It lacks the levity of a true romantic comedy — the film takes itself far too seriously at moments where humor was desperately needed. Yet it also lacks the emotional weight to carry the burden of psychological depth. In the end, the film sits in an awkward in-between.

Dakota Johnson once again steps into the role of a kind of Cinderella — one who's found a prince, but whose soul yearns for the poor man from her past. I’ve never been a fan of Dakota Johnson as an actress, but she’s been winning me over lately — between Splitsville and this, she’s really proving herself. She does a fine job here and feels organically embedded in the story.

Chris Evans plays Chris Evans in a rom-com — no complaints there.

Pedro Pascal plays the wealthy, accomplished man — complete with a signet ring and an air of having it all. But forgive me, Pedro — I adore you till the end and through it all — this was not it. His performance borders on SNL sketch territory, with exaggerated gestures and an overwrought sense of seriousness. It doesn’t help that his character is written so flatly and cartoonishly that even someone like Pedro couldn’t do much with it. He’s an actor who thrives on psychological nuance — here, he had none to work with, and it shows.

Materialists isn’t a bad film. It makes for a pleasant evening at the cinema, and you'll likely enjoy its aesthetics and polished surface. But its narrative inconsistencies, underwritten characters, and the attempt to appear smarter than the screenplay allows kept me at a distance. I never felt truly involved in Lucy’s dilemma — or in the especially questionable B-plots. I just observed from the sidelines, like someone eating a perfectly edible sandwich with no toppings.

In trying to deconstruct the rom-com while also being one, Materialists loses the charm of both.

5.5/10