‘Materialists’ Gets to Ugly Heart of Romance
There’s always room for rom-coms that don’t insult our intelligence.
“Materialists” leans on the dramatic side, but there are enough laughs to merit its inclusion. It’s also smart, sharp and sophisticated in the realities of romance.
Director Celine Song’s follow-up to the terrific “Past Lives” is burdened by a seriously rushed sequence and an ending that feels too much like the formula deconstructed by the rest of the story.
A never better Dakota Johnson stars as Lucy, a seasoned matchmaker who knows all the boxes that must be checked before love can bloom.
Looks. Height. Income. Fitness.
Her love life, alas, is a work-in-progress. She still pines for John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor who couldn’t make enough money to sustain their relationship.
That isn’t a problem for the new man in her life. Harry (Pedro Pascal) is absurdly rich, handsome, charismatic and did we mention absurdly rich? Lucy thinks he’s out of her league, but he’s smitten all the same.
Is this love, or will memories of John short-circuit this love connection?
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That spare plotting belies the richer themes throughout “Materialists.” (An awful title, by the way, and one that may ding its box office fortunes). Director Celine Song (“Past Lives”) drills into modern dating without blinders.
Song’s script mocks men who demand mates be impossibly young and fit while skewering women for their wild expectations. That provides a steady stream of laughs, but the love triangle in play is a straightforward affair.
Bittersweet flashbacks of the Lucy/John relationship fill in some necessary gaps, and Pascal is perfect as the charmer who seems to have it all.
Lucy dubs him a “unicorn.” He’s almost too perfect.
Seasoned rom-com fans may predict where things are headed, but the journey is richer than expected. The screenplay proves relentlessly insightful. Song won’t sugarcoat the maddening nature of modern dating.
Or the dangers.
It’s a shame the story is set in, wait for it, The Big Apple. The themes are universal, but that backdrop is so exhausted virtually any other metropolis would have added something extra.
Johnson’s range remains limited, but she stretches here in ways that the story demands. She’s vulnerable but self-assured, driven yet suddenly doubtful of her skill set.
A provocative subplot highlights that duality, giving the film a hint of menace.
Evans and Pascal nail their key moments. The “Last of Us” star behaves as if he watched every episode of “Sex and the City” and channeled the Perfect Man for our amusement.
Evans is more interesting, only because his character is relatably flawed. Try not to wince as he bickers with his roommates.
Brutal.
A key sequence, one that sets the third act in motion, is hurried in a frustrating manner. Even the charming leads can’t make the moment click, and the film suffers as a result. The romantic resolution similarly won’t be compared to “When Harry Met Sally” now or in the future.
It’s still sturdy enough not to damage what came before it.
Relationships are hard. Dating can be worse. We deserve movies that capture those realities, many warts and all. It’s why “Materialists,” despite minor flaws, is a welcome reprieve from the Kate Hudson-ization of rom-coms.
HiT or Miss: “Materialists” proves that pretty movie stars, fueled by wit and wisdom, can make the rom-com breathe again.
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