Content warning: The below contains both details from the plot of Materialists and references to sexual assault. In Celine Song’s new film Materialists, Dakota Johnson plays Lucy, a New York-based matchmaker swanning about in chic outfits as she helps her clients find “the one,” while dealing with a love triangle in her own life. Her career seems fabulous: The firm she works for, Adore, throws its staffers (all model-esque) parties at their SoHo office whenever they marry a client, and then they snag an invite to the luxe wedding. But the A24 romance film also features Lucy’s meetings—including one with a man in his 40s who finally wants to date older women, by which he means 27, and another with a woman who has a two-page document listing all of her non-negotiables.
For those of us in the dating app trenches, Materialists—inspired by Song’s own experience working in the industry—offers insight into all facets of the matchmaking world. But what does a contemporary matchmaker think of the movie?
