Materialists has earned a whopping 88% Rotten Tomatoes ranking after landing in US cinemas.
Starring three major powerhouse performers, Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans, it’s probably not particularly shocking that the new romantic comedy from Past Lives director Celine Song has received rave reviews.
The movie was released to US audiences on June 13 – although regrettably isn’t crossing the pond until August 15 – and has been met with praise from reviewers who love this ‘deconstruction of the conventional rom-com’.
The film follows Lucy, an ambitious New York City matchmaker (Johnson) who finds herself in a love triangle between her ex, a handsome cater-waiter (Evans) and her new love interest, a handsome, multimillionaire businessman (Pascal).
Things begin to get tricky for Lucy as she must choose between her past and future while she mixes business with romance and struggles to handle the consequences.
With an 88% Rotten Tomatoes, the critics consensus on the site is favourable and praises the film for its ‘meaty’ performances.
‘A mature deconstruction of the conventional rom-com, Materialists provides its trio of swoon-worthy stars some of their meatiest material yet while reaffirming Celine Song as a modern master of relationship dramas,’ the critics’ consensus affirms.
Film critics have also praised the film as a ‘snappy rom-com’ with some arguing it has rewritten the genre, with others saying it’s stuck to the formula – but in a fun, refreshing way.
‘A seductive, smartly refreshed addition to an impossibly, perhaps irredeemably old-fashioned genre that was once a Hollywood staple,’ said Manohla Dargis for The New York Times.
‘[Materialists] marks the emergence of a new genre: the rom-con, not in the sense that it’s against the vicarious pleasures of flirting, seduction and finally finding true love, but that it’s painfully aware of the coldhearted calculation that so often lies beneath,’ said Ann Hornaday for the Washington Post.
‘After the spare and almost meditative tone of Past Lives comes this snappy rom-com with serious star power that unapologetically follows the conventions of the genre, which means we can guess where it’s likely going to take us. But the ride is really fun,’ said Karen Gordon for Original Cin.
‘Tilt “Materialists” at an angle and it’s the same film as “Past Lives,” only bolder and funnier. Really, Song wants to know whether a sensible girl can justify shackling herself to a broke creative,’ said Amy Nicholson for the Los Angeles Times.
Director Celine Song was the mastermind behind the 2023 film Past Lives, which was met with incredible praise and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
Although Materialists marks Song’s second film, the expectations surrounding the New York-based director, playwright, and screenwriter were high, given the success of her first film.
Past Lives was a sombre, more melancholic semi-autobiographical portrayal of a love triangle, which followed two childhood friends over the course of 24 years as they grew apart from one another.
The film has a 95% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes and stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro.
‘The genre of romance, it’s very easy to dismiss it as girl s**t,’ said Song in a recent interview with A24. ‘But the truth is that love affects all of us.’
Song herself worked as a matchmaker in 2016, so drew on her real-life experiences to tell this romantic story.
‘I’m always trying to make a movie that I want to watch. And to me Materialists is made for the audience in 2025, to talk about love and the way it exists today.
‘It’s completely worthy of cinema.’
Materialists hits cinemas in the UK on August 15.
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