The formula for what makes a lovable rom-com these days isn’t what it used to be. Guy-gets-girl plots need more diversity to be interesting, characters need more depth to be reachable, and happily-ever-afters need more honest resolutions to feel satisfying. So when the trailer for Materialists arrived, I will admit I was a little nervous that its tropey Hitch-esque plot wouldn’t push the cinematic boundaries the way I knew an A24 film could.
On the surface, Materialists doesn’t seem like a stand-out in comparison to conversation starters like director Celine Song’s feature debut and Oscar-nominated film Past Lives. It falls into many of those rom-com clichés we have seen many times before, with grand romantic gestures and basic love triangle structuring. Yet, after watching, I can’t help but remain delightfully surprised by the film’s ability to be completely self-aware of its genre tropes and somehow do them better. Materialists knows exactly what kind of movie it is, and it makes romance genre clichés feel sharper, fresher, and more clever than ever.
We follow Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a young and highly-skilled matchmaker in New York City who is known for her ability to find partners who check all the relationship boxes for her clients’ (very materialistic) non-negotiables. The kind of asks that are utterly outrageous, like over six feet tall, doesn’t like cats, no receding hairline, nothing over 20 BMI, must be under 30. But to Lucy, love is just math. A business deal for people’s materialistic values. Busy securing perfect matches for her clients, it isn’t until two unexpected men show up in Lucy’s life (Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans) that she begins to question if love really is something that can materialize.
My Review of Materialists
It celebrates clichés in a refreshing way
Heavily influenced by late ‘90s and early 2000s romances like How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days and You’ve Got Mail, my rom-com non-negotiables settle for nothing less than a big city setting, A-list pairings, fun wardrobing, and a profound confession of love in front of a brownstone stoop. Materialists checks all the cliché rom-com boxes, but where it shines is in its ability to make audiences feel like they’re falling in love with the genre for the first time.
Materialists knows you’ve seen this film before, but it stands out because it celebrates all those feel-good elements rom-coms need rather than making them feel overdone and tired. It embraces the New York City charm, makes the happily-ever-after feel earned, and knows how to make a love story feel as simple and serendipitous as a perfectly timed beer and Coke meet-cute.
“Materialists knows exactly what kind of movie it is, and it makes romance genre clichés feel sharper, fresher, and more clever than ever.”
It’s full of rom-com fashion nostalgia
Lucy’s wardrobe feels like something plucked straight out of Andie Anderson’s closet or Vivian Ward’s transformation playbook, but not without a few minor twists. Rooted in quiet luxury, Lucy’s character delivers the fashion fantasy we all crave in any New York City rom-com: tall boots, perfectly undone curls, a good blazer, and a fashionable work tote to strut across crosswalks with. But what makes Lucy’s wardrobe so much more refreshing is that it doesn’t try to trick you into believing that stylish fantasy is real. In fact, it does quite the opposite.
Materialists leans into Lucy’s fashion choices as a parallel to her character’s illusion of what love is: materialistic, a business deal, and something valuable, in the literal sense. Then, she peels it back another layer, making her outfits feel infinitely more relatable. Suddenly, Lucy’s in a messy bun, a pair of Nikes, tall socks, and a yellow floral dress. The shifts are subtle, but I love how they lean into Lucy’s emotional unraveling and her views on love. It’s a masterclass in visual storytelling—feeling familiar at first glance but layered with tons of hidden meaning that elevates the plot even more.
It delivers a relationship reminder we all need to hear
Materialists’ stylish and witty dissection of love, class, and relationship values is a conversation that feels familiar, but the lessons are ones we often forget. And what I love about this movie is how it illustrates them in a refreshing and tender way. You’ll exit the theater with thought-provoking questions about modern romances, wondering if natural, unfiltered love can survive in a world that often sees status as a non-negotiable and love without money as nothing but a bad business deal.
We all know a rom-com concept is only as good as its resolution, and what makes this film so compelling isn’t some big twist or genre flip. It simply holds a mirror to the compromises we quietly make for love. Beneath the checked boxes and “perfect match” vocabulary that Lucy references like numbers on a spreadsheet is a love story that’s as much about identity as it is intimacy. It lets us indulge in the materialistic rom-com fantasy, sure—but it doesn’t let us forget the true cost of that fantasy: real love.
So, should you watch Materialists?
If you’re heading into Materialists this week expecting a cinematic masterpiece, don’t. But you should expect to have a great time and enjoy the movie for what it is. Materialists doesn’t aim to completely deconstruct the genre or break your heart wide open, but it doesn’t have to in order to still be a good movie. It leans into a different kind of romance, the kind that gives you all the butterflies you had while watching your favorite early 2000s rom-com. Materialists succeeds in balancing clichés with hard truths about love that are guaranteed to stick with you. It’s playful, thematic, honest, and will leave you with a new lens on what makes real love valuable. In my opinion, it’s definitely worth the trip to the theater.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Madigan Will, Assistant Editor
As an Assistant Editor for The Everygirl, Madigan writes and edits content for every topic under the digital media sun. As the oldest of four siblings, she enjoys utilizing her big sister persona to connect and inspire readers—helping them discover new ways to maximize their everyday.
