By Lynn Venhaus

“Cause the boy with the cold hard cash
Is always Mister Right
‘Cause we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl ” — Madonna

Writer-director Celine Song’s savvy and shrewd spin on modern relationships confronts expectations – and gender politics — without irony.

“Materialists,” her highly anticipated follow up to 2023’s acclaimed Oscar-nominated “Past Lives,” frames a romantic triangle with Song’s experience working at a dating service while she was trying to get her playwrighting career off the ground.

With her keen understanding of male-female dynamics, she presents an honest yet somewhat cynical look exploring intangible romantic love vs. a transactional business deal. Look at all the lonely people! Where do they all come from?

Apparently, many of them are in Manhattan. Another 100 people just got off the train in a city of strangers, some come to work, some to play.

John (Chris Evans), a scruffy still-struggling actor whose main hustle is cater waitering, once lived with and loved Lucy (Dakota Johnson), who ditched acting for the performance artistry of a dating service.

Lucy is a smart single woman whose success as a matchmaker is judged by how many engagements she’s facilitated – whether they ‘checked a lot of boxes’ for lonely, hopeful souls believing in happily ever after, or just satisfying hook-ups.

No longer content to look for love the old-fashioned way, well-heeled New Yorkers put their trust and money into this dating service called Adore. They do the math.

Adore is a carefully curated luxury service where employees work the algorithms, selling happiness like advertising agencies market the sizzle instead of the steak.

In their shallow look for Mr. or Ms. Right, these eager-to-mingle clients draft rigid non-negotiables to Lucy, hoping she will make their largely unattainable dreams come true.

Women discuss height, hairline and salary while men concern themselves with age and BMI. Much of the film’s humor is derived from people’s shopping lists.

While attending two clients’ wedding, Lucy meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), the groom’s suave brother who works in private equity and lives in a $12 million penthouse. Cha-ching. Taking milady out on the town to the ritziest places, he attentively shows her a lavish lifestyle that she could only once fantasize about.

Basically, he’s what they call in the dating biz a “unicorn,” a perfect match. But will the tug from the imperfect one who got away be too much for Lucy to resist? Security vs. uncertainty…Hmmm.

That’s the rom-com rub, but of course, Song isn’t going to go down the road often traveled. She brings fresh insight and an interesting perspective about commitment – even though we are conditioned to reach for the stars.

There is also a sobering subplot involving a dating hopeful named Sophie (Zoe Winters) who hasn’t had any luck moving past the first date. She is disillusioned by the whole mating ritual, and must deal with a scary situation.

The charisma is considerable with Evans and Pascal the as suitors. I’ve always been more lukewarm about Johnson – after all, she won a well-deserved Razzie last year for “Madame Web.” But just as she was in “Peanut Butter Falcon” and “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” she is dialed in and believable, a pleasant surprise.

The movie is book-ended with a caveman courtship in ancient civilization, so the point is made, but in present day, most couples don’t need to unite a kingdom or settle through land and livestock. Point taken, but really, exploring the modern dilemmas works just fine.

Not as profound or lyrical as “Past Lives,” but nonetheless an interesting point of view, “Materialists” charms with its simple straightforward vision.

“Materialists” is a 2025 romantic comedy-drama written and directed by Celine Song and starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal and Zoe Winters. Its run time is 1 hour, 56 minutes and it is rated R for language and brief sexual material. It opened in theatres June 13. Lynn’s Grade: B+