If you’re a romcom evangelist, you may agree that we’ve been sorely lacking in any true romantic comedies since, well, the 90s and early 00s. Don’t get us wrong, there have been some gems here and there, but with two more trailers dropping in the last couple of weeks for the Materialist, this feels like a real homage to all the tropes and big romantic gestures we crave in a top tier romantic comedy – namely that it looks like it actually might be funny!
Centring around the successful, pragmatic matchmaker Lucy, portrayed by Dakota Johnson, she must wrestle between her head and her heart when presented with the perfect match, millionaire Harry Castillo (Pedro Pascal) and old flame John (Chris Evans).
Here are the four things from the trailers that have us so ready for Materialists to arrive on August 15. (Obviously the cast list goes without saying!)
Lucy’s clients aren’t prepared to settle – and it’s giving the woes of modern day dating
It’s got all the nostalgia of a great romcom from yesteryear, but with the realities of modern day dating, namely that the standards are high, the list of non-negotiables long, and, for Lucy’s clients at least, height is at the top of the list. And while these realities are sometimes a little dire playing out in the real world, in Hollywood they’re simply a gag for which to pull inspiration from.
Playing out in the trailer, there’s an easy back-and-forth balancing the two. We went from yelling “Hell yeah” to one client knowing her worth – claiming she deserved to have her criteria met – to holding our head in our hands as a man unabashedly stated a woman in her thirties was a bit old from him – a man clearly in his early to mid forties.
The slight pessimistic undertones are welcome
It goes hand in hand that an honest portrayal of dating in today’s world should be accompanied by a slightly pessimistic, but still entirely privileged, protagonist – and Dakota Johnson definitely delivers, with some excellent one-liners. Described by her friend as “the eternal bachelorette”, it’s that classic dynamic we’ve seen before of the hopeless romantic realising other peoples dreams; always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
Equally, she’s not completely abandoned her own list of non-negotiables. In the trailer, Lucy sets out the parameters of her dating goals: “I’m gonna die alone, or get a rich husband.” And for that, we can only applaud her. It’s hard out here, what we all wouldn’t give for a bit of financial security, am I right?
There are some gut-wrenching and flat out iconic lines
If you’re not left either yelling or clutching your chest, has a romantic comedy really done its job? We think not. But all signs point to Materialists delivering, with the trailer already revealing some gut-wrenching and similarly iconic lines.
Firstly, when Lucy and Pedro Pascal’s Harry Castillo are dancing at the wedding and Lucy tells him, “I’m probably not someone you wanna date, because the next person I date I’m gonna marry,” to which he says, “Are you hitting on me?” in his perfect, dry drawl.
And for all those second chance romance diehards (we’re talking about ourselves here), the exchange between Lucy and old flame John hit us like a gut punch. John is driving and Lucy says, “You’re the same as always,” to which John responds, “I was hoping you’d say I was different.”
Here’s the kicker, though. When Lucy asks why, he says, “Because then I wouldn’t be the guy that lost you.” Our hearts!
Materialists doesn’t seem completely unrealistic
Anyone going into a romcom should be prepared to suspend some level of disbelief when dealing in grand romantic gestures and happily ever afters. However, there’s definitely an appreciation for Materialists being a little more grounded – even if it’s only because Lucy is responsible for the nuptials of nine couples.
No, it doesn’t feel like a particularly grandiose number for a woman deemed an incredibly successful matchmaker, but actually that’s quite a lot of “completed it, mate” love stories when you think about it.
That, and Lucy’s drink of choice is a coke and a beer. Is it giving “I’m not like other girls” manic pixie dream girl energy, or is it actually just kinda cool? Even if the American measures of beer are very odd to us Brits…
Honestly, Materialists looks so good, we’re a bit upset we’ve got to wait two whole months more for its release in the UK. But it’ll be worth it – and there are plenty of other upcoming movies in 2025 to look forward to in the meantime, with Cineworld Unlimited getting you into every last screening, the equivalent of your monthly payment working out as little as two cinema tickets.
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