Celine Song’s new romantic comedy, Materialists, is about a matchmaker having to choose between the perfect match and her ex-boyfriend.

This is one of those rom-coms that had me laughing plenty throughout the film. I think what I appreciated the most about it is that while Materialists does fall along typical rom-com beats, it also changed it up. We get a break-up that takes place during the film, but also, a pre-film breakup. And of course, the credits do manage to give the ending away. It’s not that it’s an intentional way of doing things, but spoiler alert, that’s just how the business happens to work.

The gist of Materialists basically comes down to matchmaker Lucy (Dakota Johnson) being torn about Harry (Pedro Pascal), the brother of a client’s groom, and former boyfriend John (Chris Evans), an actor who still lives in the same apartment and drives the same car. He’s still a struggling actor and takes different jobs–a catering job when we first meet him–as a way of making ends meet. He lives with three roommates and newsflash, it’s not the best living situation.

Like John, Lucy had also been an actor when they were originally dating. However, she knew she wasn’t going to cut it. That’s why she eventually landed a job with what Jews would refer to as a shidduch service. In essence, she’s a shadchan. She’s celebrating her ninth match to be married and that’s where she meets Harry. At the same time, she’s still trying to find the right match for Sophie (Zoë Winters). All the while, Lucy believes she’s going to die alone. Checking off one’s boxes seems to be a running theme throughout Materialists.

Sophie might be Lucy’s client, but there’s definitely more to their relationship. As in I could see them actually being friends as a result of the professional service. Unfortunately, there’s an incident between Sophie and another client. It shows how bad people are able to slip through the cracks. The incident–again, no spoilers on this end, also leads Lucy into  something of a midlife crisis. Having sublet her apartment to take an Iceland trip that’s no longer happening, the only person Lucy feels she can turn to is John. Is John her Plan B or was he always her Plan A and thing just got distracted along the way?

What Materialists benefits from is its charm, writing, and direction. Okay, so part of me was like, well, Madame Web is just having to choose between Steve Rogers and Reed Richards. I kid, I kid, but that’s the Marvel Universe is so expansive that it’s inevitable to get leads from various Marvel and Marvel-films-still-being-licensed-to-other-studios films starring in a non-Marvel film. I haven’t seen enough of Pascal outside of his work on The Mandalorian to really know his range as an actor. But Chris Evans? He’s got a wide range as an actor and isn’t a stranger to rom-coms either.

But in all seriousness, filmmaker Celine Song draws from her own experiences. Back when she was a struggling playwright, she took a job as a matchmaker at a high-end matchmaking service. They’re not after random people–the clientele list includes high-end money makers. Think private equity and luxurious types–the people who can put money in their pockets, if it means finding the right person. Who could have guessed at the time that it would later inspire Materialists? It just so happens that said film is her sophomore film, which is still hard to believe.

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Celine Song
CAST: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Zoë Winters, Marin Ireland, and Pedro Pascal

A24 will release Materialists in theaters on June 13, 2025. Grade: 4/5

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