A24 is back on the big screen with its latest romantic comedy featuring a headlining cast and a familiar plot.

A young New York City matchmaker’s lucrative business gets complicated as she finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.

Review

Materialists follows a New York City matchmaker, Lucy (Dakota Johnson), as she navigates her own dating life. She runs into her ex while also meeting her perfect match, and suddenly, her otherwise emotionless dating advice as a matchmaker comes back to haunt her. Her ex, John (Chris Evans), is an actor who can’t seem to get it together and works catering jobs on the side. Her perfect match, Harry (Pedro Pascal), is a wealthy private equity manager who checks all her boxes.

Materialists attempts to expose the ugly side of matchmaking and dating. Yet it does it in such a clumsy fashion. It shows how many of us focus on the superficial—how much money someone makes, what they look like, or their exact body type—with little consideration for love itself. That isn’t anything that hasn’t already been told a million times in films. Lucy lacks any real moral compass as she sells her services and pushes clients into the “perfect date.” It isn’t until one of her clients drops the agency that Lucy gets a reality check and starts to realize just how shallow she truly is.

Nothing about the plot is new or groundbreaking. It’s one-dimensional and uninteresting. The characters are monotone and emotionless, mirroring our lack of emotional investment in any of their stories. Sure, we might feel bad for John and Harry in the end. But nothing in the film draws us in or makes us care about the outcome. The issue isn’t the cast—they’ve proven their talent in past performances. The writing simply underestimates the audience’s understanding of relationships and treats us like we’re clueless, rather than telling a compelling story.

This is the first film I’ve nearly fallen asleep to while watching in a theater. There’s just nothing here to hold on to. It’s a disappointing miss from A24, a studio known for its strong, distinctive films. They just missed the mark with this one.

Courtesy of A24