By Lisa Sinrod
Are you in the mood for a summer rom com? This romantic comedy released in theaters nationwide on June 13 features a high-end professional Matchmaker, her many neurotic clients and two men vying for a relationship with the Matchmaker herself. “The Materialists” stars Dakota Johnson, who brings the right combination of heart and soul to carry the film. Handsome and wealthy Harry Castillo is portrayed by Pedro Pascal and a cute but broke guy next door type named John is played by Chris Evans. They both give credible performances as part of a love triangle with Dakota Johnson’s Lucy in a plot that is at times a bit silly, but also clever and tender.
The film is an immersion in New York City’s glittery dating scene, with all the trendy clothes and materialistic focus that ostensibly inhabits Upper East Side young professionals in the 21st century. Lucy seems self-aware and also cognizant of the conundrum between love and money when it comes to picking a mate, as she works relentlessly to find perfect matches for her clients while ignoring her own relationship needs. As a workaholic, she takes the vital statistics of her clients very seriously (particularly as they have to do with earning capacity and lifestyle metrics) and can rattle these off in a manner that is believable and funny. The business of dating is commodified and all about statistics at Adore, the agency Lucy works for. Lucy is driven to succeed until a challenging situation involving one of her professionally arranged matches goes awry in a big way and forces her to reconsider everything. What ensues shakes up not only Lucy’s professional world at the matchmaking agency, but also her personal world. It is in these challenges that the film presents some tender moments and during which larger and more universal themes involving romantic relationships emerge.
The film is a good showcase for Johnson’s talents. I was pleasantly surprised by her emotional depth and comedic timing. What at first seems unrelatable, yet fun for a rom com romp, becomes more relatable as we follow Lucy’s personal path forward. The film can be both light and also a heavy commentary on the darker side of modern day dating.
Writer-director Celine Song’s (“Past Lives”) script provides nuance and originality, from which Johnson, Pascal and Evans flourish in inhabiting their roles. I found myself rooting for everyone. The simplicity of that can feel good in these crazy times we live in. All of this is not to be taken too seriously, of course, as the film still remains a glossy rom com. However, the combination of a fairly good script and the adept acting of Johnson, Pascal and Evans leads me to rate it a notch above the average romantic comedy (in this case, also a “dramedy”). As for the deeper themes involving what one wants in a life partner, it is your choice whether to simply be along for the fun ride or whether you’d like to ponder these matters more deeply. The film’s editor, Keith Fraase (he also edited Song’s “Past Lives” film), summed it up as follows to IndieWire as reported by Bill Desowitz on June 19. “In cutting any comedy, I can do everything with a light touch, but specifically with Celine’s writing, it’s like Shakespeare in the theater: you don’t want to overly perform the lines. It’s supposed to be effortless. There’s a certain poetic and intellectual wit to it that you just let it be.”