Materialists Puts Love on the Market, Loses the Sale

Materialists

★ ★

Materialists is about a matchmaker named Lucy (Dakota Johnson) who’s being celebrated at work for the ninth wedding of her career. She’s supposed to be the Jerry Maguire of matchmakers, but nine weddings feels like a low number. You start to wonder: is Lucy bad at her job, or is the job itself just transactional theater?

She has a book of clients that treat matchmaking like Amazon Prime—filtering for height, income, and lifestyle like they’re ordering a blender.

When Lucy attends the wedding, she meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), the wealthy brother of the groom, after he hears her talking with single gals at the reception. She sells them what she does and lands some new clients. Harry is impressed and wants to learn more about her. He is very charming and might be making headway to a first date, or something else, when her ex-husband John (Chris Evans) surprises them both.

Dakota Jonson as Lucy and Pedro Pascal as Harry
© 2025 A24

He’s a struggling actor working as a waiter for a catering company. His lack of financial resources is one of the reasons their marriage failed. But we get the sense that both of them regret that the relationship ended.

As the story continues, she’ll date Harry and rekindle her friendship with John. The relationship with Harry is very transactional—he ticks almost all of her boxes. As an audience, we can see that John had once captured her heart, and we get the sense he still has a slight hold on it. Will she stick with what looks good on paper or follow her heart, despite how cold and callous it’s become?

Johnson brings little spark to Lucy. Her delivery feels detached, as if she’s reciting dialogue she hasn’t had time to connect with.

The film asks us to look deeper into romantic relationships. What’s the benefit of their transactional nature? Surely, for a relationship to function, there must be some give and take. But for it to last, doesn’t there need to be more?

With Harry, Lucy has a tall, handsome, established man—she’ll never want for anything materially. With John, she has spontaneity, genuine care and the one thing she’s been missing: joy.

Dakota Johnson as Lucy and Chris Evans as John
© 2025 A24

Ultimately, Materialists is about how we look at relationships, dating and marriage. A lot of time is spent negotiating. It’s almost as if people approach going to a matchmaker like they would buying a car. “Here’s my shopping list. Find this person for me.”

When it’s time for Lucy and Harry to make love, the first visit to his apartment leads to the most passionless prelude to intimacy this side of an accounting seminar. There’s no spark. They go through the motions like two people checking off a to-do list. Do these people even want to make love? Thankfully, the scene fades to black before we’re forced to endure more.

Near the beginning of the film, Lucy smokes a cigarette after the ninth wedding celebration. A colleague tells her about a surgery that makes men taller. The procedure involves breaking the legs and separating them, allowing them to gain length as the bone grows back. Lucy says that’s a game changer. I guess women like taller men. Who knew?

Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal
© 2025 A24

But that’s kind of the absurdity this film is trying to portray—the transactional side of dating and marriage.

This film comes off as a movie that wants to be a witty romantic dramedy. It certainly has the elements to do so but plays out like paint-by-numbers motel art.

For a romantic film to work, the lead actress needs to bring some charm and charisma. Johnson delivers a pretty smile, but there’s no spark in her eyes. Despite its potential, this film is a transaction you’ll want to return—with no receipt, no spark and no reason to keep it.