A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) finds herself torn between the perfect match (Pedro Pascal) and her imperfect ex (Chris Evans).
Where to Watch Materialists
- Joel12 June 2025Maybe a career best performance for Chris Evans, but man this screen play thinks it’s so much smarter than it is. A few moments literally made me roll my eyes. There’s good moments in here. Pedro’s charming as ever, the main score that plays throughout this is beautiful, and it feels so close to being something special. Ultimately it ends up being closer to the notebook (which I hate) than being anything really great.
- rg94003 days agoThe Materialists feels like a much more conceptual movie than Celine Song's debut, Past Lives. I think it was marketed like a romcom, but I would not classify it as such. There are some moments of humor, but they almost feel out of place when they occur (thinking of a recurring gag about legs). Instead, I think Celine Song wants to dissect what makes love ticks and uses Dakota Johnson's matchmaker Lucy as a way to reflect both the cynical and the idealistic visions about what it can be. The movie has elicited a ton of Discourse, but make no mistake, Song remains a phenomenal talent. The shots are gorgeous, perfectly lit, and captured in elegant beauty. It's been a while since I've seen a movie where the blocking feels so intentional and thought out. Even the characters walking styles feel deliberate and purposeful. I think a lot of people wanted this movie to feel more character-driven, and I agree that the relationship between Chris Evans' and Pedro Pascal's characters is not exactly that organic. However, I think Song is really focused on Lucy and her worldview, and in that regard, those two characters play the exact role she needed. This movie is not about a sweeping romance that will leave people in tears or even a slow-burn yearning like her prior movie. Instead, Song wants to see if love can be mathematically determined and the role material wealth (hence the name) plays a role in it. It's honestly a very fascinating examination, and even though the movie felt very different than what I was initially expecting, I was enthralled with it. I do wish we got a bit more with Pedro Pascal, which could have made things feel a bit more sincere and maybe curbed some of the dumb controversies surrounding it. Regardless, I think this movie feels authentic in a different way, in a way that feels less about the characters themselves but the very nature of dating and love. It's an earnest and lovely second feature from a director who is proving to be a talented tour de force and someone who is unafraid to challenge genre norms.
- Luke Erickson20 August 2025I gave this an extra half star because I like the actors. The message here is that true love prevails, but they take a long time to tell you that. I feel like she could eventually fall in love with the Rich Pedro Pascal. She just needed to spend time with him. It's Pedro Pascal, who cares if he has height surgery? She bailed on a rich week in Ice Land to go slum it with Chris Evans in his dingey apartment? Yeah, right!? I'm sorry she didn't fall in love with Pedro after like 3 fancy dinners and some sex. It apparently takes time to fall in love!? I guess in her Pimp job at Adore she forgot that? The only other thing that this movie taught me is that it pays to be tall. I'm wasting my height, I've been spoiled with how people have to look up to me vs down? This review rant has gone on too long. Peace out!
- Devin Ford27 April 2026Legitimately one of the worst movies I've ever seen. All of the acting was extremely wooden and all the characters were genuinely vain and horrible people. I don't know the first thing about being in a serious relationship, but if finding love means becoming like the characters in this film, then I am fine being on my own. This movie seriously make me hate myself and even the remote possibility of finding love.
- MrTrivet10 February 2026Materialists is a romcom that attempts an honest look at dating in the age of comparison, checklists, and constant self-optimization. Its starting point is love as a process that increasingly resembles a transaction, where emotions must compete with social, financial, and aesthetic capital. The film puts this kind of calculation under scrutiny, but instead of contempt it opts for a measured romanticism - not naive, but cautious. Although the narrative is told mainly from a female perspective, it is surprisingly empathetic toward men who feel lost in today’s relationship marketplace. Their insecurities, related to appearance, height, or economic status, are not mocked, but presented as real barriers in a world that rewards the “right” parameters. The film also takes a clear-eyed approach to money: not as the enemy of love, but as its boundary condition. Material comfort often proves more important than emotional authenticity, and Materialists does not condemn this attitude, instead relativizing the characters’ choices. Much of the film’s appeal comes from the sheer likability of its main cast. Dakota Johnson’s character, in particular, stands out: outwardly cold, blunt, and emotionally guarded, yet surprisingly grounded and human. Beneath the sharp edges, she feels like a comfort character - someone whose pragmatism reads less as cynicism and more as a learned success and hapiness strategy. It’s a likable, bittersweet piece of cinema.
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Materialists was released on 12 June 2025.
Materialists was directed by Celine Song.
Materialists has a runtime of 1h 56m.
Materialists was produced by Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon, David Hinojosa, Celine Song.
A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) finds herself torn between the perfect match (Pedro Pascal) and her imperfect ex (Chris Evans).
The key characters in Materialists are Lucy (Dakota Johnson), John (Chris Evans), Harry (Pedro Pascal).
Materialists is rated 15.
Materialists is a Comedy, Romance, Drama film.
Materialists has an audience rating of 6.5 out of 10.
Materialists had a budget of US$20M.
Materialists has made US$107.9M at the box office.