An ambitious matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex. A film by Celine Song, starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Zoë Winters, Marin Ireland, Louisa Jacobson, and Pedro Pascal.
MATERIALISTS
Celine Song
(2025)
Lucy Mason (Dakota Johnson) is a rising professional matchmaker at ADORE, a company that specializes in pairing clients with potential partners. She’s one of the most talented matchmakers at the firm, with an impressive track record of nine successful weddings. After years of experience, she’s developed razor-sharp instincts and a keen eye for chemistry. Lucy is so good at what she does that she can spot potential matches for her clients just walking down the street.
On her way to meet her client Sophie, Lucy gets a call back from James. When she asks for his feedback on the first date with Sophie, even mentioning that Sophie had a great time and wanted to see him again, Lucy is completely taken aback. James doesn’t share the same feeling at all and asks to be taken off the service, claiming that Lucy didn’t deliver what she promised: a fit woman in her 30s with a nice smile.
At the café, Lucy meets her 39-year-old client Sophie (Zoë Winters) who’s glowing with excitement. Sophie can’t stop complimenting Lucy, convinced she’s finally found her perfect match. She enthusiastically describes her date with James as the best first date she’s ever had, making it incredibly awkward for Lucy to deliver the bad news.
Eventually, Lucy gently breaks it to her, lying that James enjoyed meeting Sophie but just didn’t feel the chemistry was there. Confused and frustrated, Sophie immediately asks why Lucy would set her up with a guy like that just to let her down. Lucy simply replies that James checked a lot of the company’s boxes, and Sophie checked a lot of his. Lucy then promises Sophie that if she just moves on to the next match, she’ll soon marry the love of her life.
Over the weekend, Lucy attends her client Charlotte B’s wedding at a lavish hotel. A group of bridesmaids approach Lucy, telling her that Charlotte needs her. Apparently, Charlotte (Louisa Jacobson) is having an emotional breakdown, questioning herself and the marriage. After Lucy talks her through it and comforts her, Charlotte finally goes through with marrying Peter (Fernando Belo).
Impressed by Lucy’s marketing method after overhearing her matchmaking pitch to other single ladies earlier, Peter’s brother Harry Castillo (Pedro Pascal) is drawn to her and comes over to talk. While they’re making conversation, Lucy shows interest in Harry and suggests he’d be a great match for many of her clients. When Harry asks what she wants to drink, Lucy says she’d like Coke and beer. Suddenly, a bottle of Coca-Cola and a glass of beer appear on the table. Startled and confused, Lucy looks up and recognizes John (Chris Evans). John is a struggling actor and her ex-boyfriend, who’s working as a cater-waiter at the wedding.
After the reception, Lucy learns that John is still pursuing his acting career and has to pick up several cater-waiter shifts to save cash before rehearsals start for the play he’s in. Lucy tells him she missed him, and John admits he missed her too. John then asks if he can drive her home once he’s finished up, and Lucy accepts.
As John drives her home, Lucy’s mind flashes back to when they were younger and living together. She remembers a heated argument they had on their anniversary when John refused to pay a $25 parking fee, and she became upset because being late for their restaurant reservation would mean a $25 per person cancellation charge. The memory suggests this incident led to their breakup.
Meanwhile, Lucy agrees to go on a date with Harry, simply to prove that she isn’t the right match for him and that he isn’t truly interested. Harry, however, insists his instincts are usually right. Eventually, the two begin to develop a romantic relationship. Harry takes her to fancy restaurants while Lucy, in turn, tries to learn more about him for her work.
Harry seems to have everything Lucy ever wanted. She describes him as a “unicorn” in her industry: an impossible fantasy, a perfect man who is smart, has an ideal income, education, lifestyle, and height. Despite this, Lucy believes “the math just doesn’t add up” between them, feeling their backgrounds are too different. Harry counters that he’s looking for someone who understands the game, someone he respects and trusts. He wants to be with her for her intangible qualities.
The morning after their intimate night, Harry makes breakfast for Lucy and hands her the key to his $12 million apartment before heading to work. Everything in Lucy’s love life and career seems to be going perfectly.
She calls Mark P. (John Magaro) to get feedback on his first date with Sophie. Lucy is thrilled when Mark tells her the date went wonderfully and that he thinks Sophie is great. This means Lucy has finally found the right match for Sophie. However, when Lucy tries to reach Sophie on the phone, her call goes straight to voicemail.
At the office, Violet (Marin Ireland) calls Lucy into her office and asks if she’s spoken with Sophie. Lucy replies that she’s only talked to Mark. She is startled when Violet tells her that Sophie was assaulted on her date with Mark. Sophie is now bringing charges against the company.
Feeling guilty and responsible, Lucy wants to make things right and asks to speak with Sophie, but Violet forbids it. She explains that Sophie is no longer the company’s client, and if she calls, Lucy must not pick up. Lucy becomes confused when Violet explains that a matchmaker can’t vouch for how someone behaves in an intimate setting, like it’s just normal business. Lucy appears naive, unable to comprehend how something as horrible as an assault could happen to one of her matches.
Violet then shares a story about a similar incident that happened to one of her clients in her third year at ADORE, casually mentioning that it’s a known risk that can happen to everyone if you work long enough. Lucy is devastated by this revelation.
Directed by Canadian filmmaker Celine Song, MATERIALISTS might just be one of the worst romantic comedies I’ve seen in a long time. The script is even more terrible than ANYONE BUT YOU.
The dialogue feels incredibly forced as the characters constantly spell out exactly what they’re thinking and feeling instead of letting the viewers figure it out naturally.
The most frustrating part is that the first half hour actually shows promise. There’s something really interesting about going behind the scenes of professional matchmaking. The viewers get to watch the consultations, see how they evaluate potential matches, and get a glimpse into this whole industry.
There are some memorable moments, like when clients make hilariously impossible demands. But when the movie leans on this joke several times, what starts as funny quickly becomes tiresome and even a bit creepy. Then the movie just never recovers and loses its way completely.
What makes it even worse is the almost complete lack of chemistry between the main characters. And despite all the talk about how matchmaking is supposedly this scientific, mathematical process, the movie never explores that idea beyond the most surface-level stuff like height and income. There’s so much potential there that just gets wasted.
I don’t want to compare this film to Celine Song’s directorial debut PAST LIVES, which has a completely different narrative, but I can’t help wondering why there’s so much soul in that film and almost none in this one.
A good-looking cast like Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson, and Pedro Pascal should work wonders in a romantic comedy like this, but they’re probably doing their best with what they’re given. The dialogue is so strange and unnatural that it would be tough for any actor to make it resonate.
Personally, I don’t think Dakota Johnson is the most suitable for this role. She rarely shows emotion and speaks in the same monotonous and calm tone throughout the entire runtime. I can’t really connect with her character. It feels like she’s reading lines instead of actually acting. I kept thinking about how other actresses might have brought something more to the Lucy character. What if it had been Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, or Scarlett Johansson instead?
MATERIALISTS was theatrically released in the United States on 13 June 2025, by A24.
