In Celine Song's film Materialists, Dakota Johnson plays Lucy, a matchmaker who navigates the complexities of modern romance. At a wedding, she supports a nervous bride-to-be, revealing the underlying power dynamics in relationships. Although the film draws from classic romantic comedies, it fails to deliver genuine humor and emotional depth, opting instead for superficiality. It critiques the notion of love while perpetuating clichés that overlook deeper social issues, ultimately providing a thought-provoking yet hollow take on heteronormativity and romantic expectations.
While the director has namechecked films like Broadcast News and The Apartment, she seemingly forgets a key component of each: They're actually funny, and brimming with the tender considerations of what happens when actualized people crash into each other.
Materialists takes the barest skin of the rom-com genre's trappings... and uses them for a story of little feeling.
Collection
[
|
...
]