Hey everyone, and welcome. Today, we will be talking about the film Materialist. Fun Fact: Writer/director Celine Song’s name is listed as the playwright for John's play because that is an actual play she wrote back in 2016. This movie came out in 2025 and stars Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans, and was directed by Celine Song. So without further ado, let's get right into it.

Materialist tells the story of a matchmaker who is really good at matching people, but when a man shows interest in dating her, she has a hard time deciding between him and her ex.

Celine Song came out swinging with her debut Past Lives, so I was interested to see her follow-up to that film. Once they announced the cast, I was sold and knew I had to watch. It's funny that her movies have centered around women juggling, which person they’d prefer as a partner, and then her husband, Justin Kuritzkes, wrote Challengers, which is also about a woman juggling two men. Materialist offers some interesting commentary on modern dating and how dating in your thirties is a bit hard. Also, one day, I too would hope to wake up in a penthouse.

This is probably one of the best roles I've seen Dakota Johnson in. She's very open and honest with what she wants and is constantly thinking about how to pair others up. She did a great job being fake and managing expectations, which, if you've ever worked in a customer-facing role, like retail or customer support, you know just how difficult people can be and also how sometimes people volunteer information they might not normally give up. She was an observer and helped her clients get paired because of her skill with observing and listening to what they wanted and finding a fit that was more realistic. She even uses her observing skill when her client is sexually assaulted, and she realizes this might not be a fit because she loves what she does, but the way the company hides these assaults and pretends like it didn't happen, even though someone's life is ruined, doesn't sit well with her. That shows the extreme end, but the idea that you love doing something and you work for a company in that field, and they do something shady, and how it makes you question everything, even if you love what you do.

I loved how honest she was in what she wants because I think that's what needs to happen in more relationships, not just romantic relationships. I think sometimes people are harsh with their honesty, so let me clarify that honesty should be respectful. She states she's materialistic and judgmental, and has a checklist in her head, which I understand, and also is great for people to realize about themselves. I think it's important to show that, as much as you may be told to settle or what to do when it comes to dating, you don't have to do it. I just really appreciated the honesty because if someone asks you a question about your observations, you should be honest because life's too short to lie to people, which may have consequences in the future when it's just easier to be honest with yourself and others.  It was funny, however, how she was so honest about how much she makes and how she made it seem like 80k was a lot of money.

Even though Lucy may seem a bit harsh because of her honesty, she is very empathetic, and when her client Sophie gets sexually assaulted, she really deals with the situation with true intentions to help. It reminded me of how companies react to stuff like this because they are worried more about their image than the person who is hurt. I was glad Lucy tried so hard to figure out where she could help because she was trying to let Sophie know that she wanted to help. In the end, when she helps her, it made me cry cause it was just such a sad situation, but also glances into how scary dating can be, because outside of being vulnerable with emotions, there is also unfortunately a possibility that someone can be an assailant or killer. I also loved how she made John wait outside because she was thinking about how to make Sophie comfortable.

Chris Evans gave a great performance as John, who is getting ragged back into Lucy's life after she hurt him. He is her ideal man, but he is poor, which is something that annoys her. It sounds very materialistic, but there's a compounding of small things that happened, which all were caused by him being poor, but they also show how sometimes he really doesn't know when to say the right thing. There are scenes where you see why she stayed with him, because in one scene she is venting to him about work, and he just listens, which is what she needed, but I think one really big factor over her love for him vs Harry is the shared experience of growing up poor. I do wish he had more development to show him actively trying to be better, considering it had been years, and he was the same, so it would have been nice to dive more into what made her go back to him. I do love how he tried to chase his artistic pursuits no matter what because it is nice to see someone chase something that truly makes them happy, even though being a partner to a struggling artist, with nasty roommates, would be hard.

Pedro Pascal plays Harry, who is rich and what Lucy considers a unicorn. I do think the term unicorn is super subjective, considering wants in a partner is subjective. I feel like in terms of honesty; he can match her because he is looking for an honest person, and both view the relationship more transactionally, which works with honesty. I do feel that he doesn't love her, but things are just easy with her because of how busy he is, like she is his friend with benefits or a companion. I loved how he went after her even after she tried to pawn him off and took a risk asking her out. There does seem to be a clear separation, though, from how she lives/ was raised vs her. He is rich, and it seems like the entire family is, and it's not so easy for her to mesh with that, even though she loves the comfort. I think most people would have chosen him because of the comfort, but to me, it seems like it would get boring after a while, but this is not me saying to avoid the rich person. I appreciated his honesty, though, and his confidence was nice to see, how you can be confident but not creepy.

My favorite part of this movie was the conversation Lucy has with Harry at the restaurant when they eventually decide to make their relationship official. I was so focused on the way she was explaining to him from what she observed and being honest with him about what she wanted and how they just differ, and I think most people would be intimidated but not Harry. Harry lets her get her words out and then pretty much matches her energy and tells her the honest opinion on what he wants and what he has observed from her. I just loved this conversation that showed how you can have a respectable conversation while sharing honest opinions about each other and what you personally are looking for in a relationship.

The Materialist is a great film that examines modern dating. While her choice in the end may not be the one everyone agrees with, it is interesting to see her journey and how good she is at pairing others up, even though she struggles herself. Dating can be hard, and this movie reminds us that its ok to have a list of things you want, but also maybe you need to be a little flexible if you want.

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