116 min | R | June 13, 2025 | A24
Celine Song follows Past Lives with a romantic comedy about money, self-worth, and modern dating. Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal navigate love as transaction.
Romantic comedies about class and money pretend wealth is not the central tension. Materialists refuses that pretense. Lucy is a New York matchmaker who pairs wealthy people with appropriate partners. Her ex-boyfriend is broke and wonderful. Her new client is rich and perfect on paper. The film watches her try to reconcile what she wants with what she thinks she should want. The premise is old. The execution is sharp.
Dakota Johnson plays Lucy with intelligence and self-awareness. She knows she is making choices based on money and refuses to lie about it. Johnson finds complexity in a character who could have been just mercenary or just romantic. Chris Evans plays the ex-boyfriend with warmth and insecurity. Pedro Pascal plays the wealthy client with charm that masks emptiness. The three actors create a triangle where everyone has legitimate perspective and no one is villainized for their choices.
Celine Song directed Past Lives and established herself as a filmmaker who understands how people talk and fail to communicate. This film operates in similar territory. The dialogue is precise. The characters articulate their needs and still cannot bridge the gap between them. Song shoots New York with beauty and alienation. The production design creates wealth that looks appealing and hollow.
This is not a typical romantic comedy. The film resists easy resolution. The ending arrives without providing the catharsis the genre usually demands. Song makes a film about adults making adult choices and living with the consequences. That is rare. That is worth celebrating.