'Materialists' review: Finally, a rom-com for intelligent adults

"You’re a 10 out of 10” is a line you don't hear much in bars anymore, but Lucy, the hero of Celine Song’s "Materialists," manages to get away with it. Played by a willowy and well-dressed Dakota Johnson, Lucy is a high-end matchmaker in Manhattan who reduces every client to a set of numbers: Income, age, height, BMI. "Marriage is a business deal," she says, "and it always has been, ever since the very first time two people did it."

This being a romantic comedy, you might guess what happens next. That 10 is a financier named Harry (Pedro Pascal) who has a nice face, courtly charm and a $12 million penthouse. And this unicorn doesn’t want Lucy’s services — he wants her. Just one problem: Lucy isn't quite over her ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans), a broke, 37-year-old actor still working as a waiter. Decisions, decisions!

"Materialists" may sound like one of those cutesy comedies from the early 1960s — what we used to call a "romp" — but it’s something else entirely: A funny, smart, sophisticated tale of love in the age of five-alarm capitalism. Written and directed by Song (whose "Past Lives" was the art-house toast of 2023), "Materialists" blends the best of all worlds: Its sudsy premise and gorgeous cast are pure Hollywood, but the deep-thinking screenplay and thoughtful direction have a refreshingly grown-up gravitas. An intelligent summer rom-com? You’ve found it.

What makes "Materialists" work are the characters, all remarkably well-drawn and beautifully played. Lucy walks a tricky line between ice-cold realist and die-hard romantic: "You’re going to marry the love of your life," she tells a panicky bride, and it may or may not be just a sales pitch. John has the pretty eyes and three-day scruff of a bad boy, but Evans gives him a heart-melting sincerity; we really, really want these two to get together. Best of all, though, is Pascal’s Harry, a great guy with a little secret. The scene where Lucy discovers it is one of the film’s most touching moments.

Song displays terrific confidence with only her second film. Gone are the moody silences of "Past Lives," replaced by evocative, spot-on dialogue. ("I want to be with you for your intangible assets," Harry tells Lucy with great tenderness.) Song can take a tired rom-com trope — say, the impassioned speech interrupted by a kiss — and make it feel fresh. One subplot, involving a client whose date goes horribly wrong, brings up more issues than the movie can handle, but even this contrivance works nicely to push two of the characters closer together.

"Materialists" feels like a movie that Ernst Lubitsch or George Cukor might make today, something witty, bubbly and elegant. (The dreamy cinematography is by Shabier Kirchner). But it’s also sharp and zeitgeisty, with an underpinning of seriousness. Now, that’s a unicorn.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com