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The Wire
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Wire
In ‘Materialists', Celine Song Elevates the ‘Fluffy' Romcom Genre Piece with Her Curiosity
'Dating is not (a) serious (business),' John (Chris Evans) tells Lucy (Dakota Johnson) at one point in Celine Song's sophomore directorial venture, Materialists . He could try telling this to those in their 20s and 30s who spend an inordinate amount of time on dating apps, matrimonial sites, and social media – consuming other people's proposals, cocktail parties, pre-wedding shoots, gender-reveals. While most (especially those in proximity to the therapy discourse these days) are able to articulate their likes and dislikes, identifying socio-economic backgrounds and political leanings, one also risks being almost hyper self-aware (and self-indulgent) while searching for a partner. In the history of mankind, this is arguably the most cynicism we might have seen around concepts like love, marriage, fulfilment through a partner. The wild, wild west is nothing compared to modern dating – something Lucy knows better than most. Few people are willing to compromise on preferences, making their mental checklists that much more knotty. 'I'm going to die alone!' exclaims more than one client to Lucy – a matchmaking specialist based in New York. Like Song's debut, Past Lives (2023), also set in the Big Apple minus the staple visuals of the Brooklyn Bridge or the Empire State building, Materialists also takes an off-centre approach despite being even more rooted in the NY rom-com genre, like The Devil Wears Prada (2002), 27 Dresses (2008), and more recently Set It Up (2018). Song is making a film about an underpaid female protagonist – somehow able to afford a smashing wardrobe, and incredibly expensive make-up – but while also bringing with it a surprising amount of heft. A still from the film 'Materialists'. Materialists is simultaneously a throwback and a contemporary deconstruction of the classic love triangle, something Hollywood studios would make more often a couple of decades ago. A broke theatre actor once, Lucy turns her attention towards her instincts at gauging people's interests and matching them with someone with a similar worldview. I can imagine a more mainstream version of this film – beginning with a montage of clients with outlandish demands (a closeted African-American lesbian seeking a conservative, church-going partner in NYC!) – but Song takes the opposite approach. She doesn't trivialise Lucy's vocation, instead opening with a client meeting with Sophie (Zoe Winters), to whom she has to deliver the bad news that there won't be a second date with the man she met the night before, who had made a good impression on her. Winters, who was earlier seen in hit TV show, Succession, is a major propelling force in the film, leaving an impact, despite appearing only briefly in three scenes. Hardened by her clients' laundry list of shallow attributes for a potential partner – ethnicity (white!), ageist (in their 20s), should be fit – make Lucy incredibly pragmatic in the way she views dating and marriage. She's certain she will marry rich, so it's no surprise then when Harry (Pedro Pascal) expresses his interest in her, she agrees to go out with him. Working in private equity, living in a $12 million penthouse in Tribeca, Harry is what Lucy describes as a 'unicorn' in her business. On the other hand is Lucy's ex-boyfriend – a wildly unsuccessful but painfully sincere John. In a splendid cut– showcasing the dissonant worlds of the two men – Song cuts from the jazz in the ballroom where Lucy was dancing with Harry, to the radio playing in John's old rickety car. I fell for Celine Song's film during a superbly-shot flashback around a lovers' quarrel. It's John and Lucy's fifth anniversary, and they're driving around Times Square looking for parking. They're deliberating over paying a parking fee of $25, or a late-fee at the fancy restaurant where Lucy has made a reservation for dinner. It's a seemingly ordinary moment when the quarrel boils over, and years worth of exasperation spills. John admits to not having money for parking, while also refusing to let Lucy pay for it. On the other side, Lucy is fed up with John always falling short of her expectations. She can't bear to see the judgement in his eyes, when she voices her desire for material comfort. He's the idealistic theatre actor trying his best to not 'sell out', instead focusing on creatively fulfilling work that doesn't support a steady, growing lifestyle. A still from the film 'Materialists'. This is one of many novel things about Song's film — how she packages the fairytale romance in Harry's portions, while routinely puncturing that make-believe world with John's gritty life bits. In a wonderful scene, Lucy admires Harry's effortlessness with which he calls for the check, and takes care of it in one swift movement. As much as the idealism of the 20s stresses on love, the older we get, the more we all get consumed by the material pleasures of life. Probably not wanting to think twice about taking a trip abroad, being able to eat at fancy places in town without sweating about the check, or living in an apartment in a posh locality. According to Song, romance has always been a barter. Someone exchanges their looks and/or temperament for wealth. Lucy sees the society as a marketplace, and everyone's value can be ascertained in the way they look, how much money they earn, how young or old they are. She's honest about her own assessment too, realising what she brings to the table isn't very much. So, after indulging Harry's singular attention for a few dates, she tries to dissuade him from seeing her, telling him he could do much better. Someone younger, with more money, and with a higher profile in society. As someone in her mid-30s, Lucy's conflict between choosing a suitable-in-all-manners scion of a business family and an endlessly-striving artist, puppy dog of a lover, feels like a real doozy. As cold-hearted as matchmaking has probably made her, Lucy realises that material comforts might count for little if the relationship itself feels sparse and impersonal. On the other hand, there might be challenges while living with fewer means, but the few joys and the love will be authentic. A still from the film 'Materialists'. Johnson is very good at playing both the pragmatic go-getter, and the vulnerable Lucy, who shatters after a workplace emergency. Evans plays it straight, but his sincerity is instantly believable. A sequence in his cramped, filthy apartment, which he shares with two other men, has an authenticity, almost like they were anecdotes borrowed from Evans' own life as an upcoming actor. Pascal feels like a martial artist, playing the rich, suave New Yorker, who doesn't think twice before becoming the generous acquaintance in every vicinity he inhabits. He can afford it, but he maintains a light touch. But I was slightly irked by the way Song concludes Harry's track in the film. He's too much of an ideal, to actually become a fleshed-out person. With her keen observation and curiosity, Song elevates what might be termed a 'fluffy' genre piece. In a crucial plot-point, she makes sure to include the dangers women have to put themselves through, while trying to find a potential partner. It's a noble thought that works more in theory, than it does in the actual film. Celine Song's Materialists balances the scale of the sentimental, tear-jerker romantic comedy with a genuinely curious film about relationships in this day and age. Another special thing about it is how it emulates the rhythm of real life, replicating its ebbs and flows, alternating between the highs of a too-good-to-be-true fairytale, the pitch-darkness of real life and the mundanities of the in-between days. Even without the mat(c)hmakers, the apps, or matrimonial sites – for Song, finding love is serious business. *Materialists is playing in theatres The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
New York Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Answer Is Pickles
Over the weekend, a few girlfriends and I settled into a Glen Powell rom-com double feature: 'Anyone but You' (an atrocious allocation of Columbia Pictures' funds and my own time) and 'Set It Up' (an ode to the form). In the latter, Powell and Zoey Deutch, who play two assistants repeatedly hamstrung by their abusive bosses, agree to split up one order of takeout — a burger with a pickle and some mac and cheese — into two so that neither employer goes hungry. 'The pickle is my dinner!' Deutch exclaims, but Powell ruthlessly claims it. What's a sandwich without a pickle, he insists. But from the elevator, he shouts: 'You know that pickle? That aforementioned pickle? That wasn't for my boss. That was for me.' He crunches into it and flashes a devious grin. A good pickle can make you lose your way. While the sweet-and-sour curious might flock to pickle-flavored chips and almonds and falafel and popcorn and pizza, real pickle people know they can be the not-so-secret ingredient that punches up a dish. I reckon Hetty Lui McKinnon is one of those people. That would surely explain her pickle-laden pasta salad, which calls for plenty of pickle brine and sliced pickles. 'I really doubted this recipe because of how insane 5 tablespoons pickle juice and 2 cups pickles seems … but it was DELICIOUS!!' one reader wrote. 'If anything I would add even more pickles and I'm not kidding.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Tatler Asia
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
The rom-com revival: 7 new romantic comedies that channel '90s and 2000s classics
'Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy' The fourth and final Bridget Jones movie finds everyone's favourite London gal (Renée Zellweger) dipping her toe back into the dating pool after spending years being a smug married woman. Now a widow and a single mother, she finds herself tentatively navigating Tinder and age-gap relationships. She does so in true Bridget fashion and with the trademark humour audiences have come to expect. But what might take fans by surprise is the depth with which the movie explores grief and loss, too. Yes, there's plenty of romance and laughs, but there's also plenty of tears and heartbreak. See also: 'Mad About The Boy': Why Bridget Jones will always be relatable, even when life stops being a rom-com 'Set It Up' Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell star as Harper Moore and Charlie Young, two frazzled assistants to demanding, high-power executives, Kirsten Stevens (Lucy Liu) and Rick Otis (Taye Diggs). Desperate for some relief, they hatch a plan to, as Charlie puts it, ' Parent Trap ' their bosses. The assistants set them up and hope they fall in love to finally get their own time back. But things take an unexpected turn when Charlie and Harper end up falling for each other in the process. If people are looking for the next generation of rom-com stars, they need look no further than Deutch and Powell. They have the charm to take on romantic roles, the comedic timing to land the laughs and the sensibility needed to sell a romantic comedy to an audience. 'A Family Affair' In this Netflix age-gap romantic comedy, Zara Ford's (Joey King) life is turned upside-down when her widowed, award-winning author mom, Brooke Harwood (Nicole Kidman), falls for her vapid Hollywood action star boss, Chris Cole (Zac Efron). The movie is a cross between Nancy Meyers (see: Brooke's swoon-worthy home and that supermarket finale) and the Hallmark Channel (hello, Christmas at the family cabin). And although it captures the charm of both, it asks viewers to suspend disbelief—and then some. However, Kidman and Efron's warm and easy rapport still manages to sell the unlikely romance. See also: Dolly de Leon joins Nicole Kidman in 'Nine Perfect Strangers' season 2 'The Lost City' Sandra Bullock, poster child for '90s and 2000s rom-coms, delivers once again in The Lost City . Here, she plays Loretta Sage, a socially awkward romance novelist, opposite Channing Tatum as her hilariously dense cover model, Alan. A run-in with an eccentric billionaire played by Daniel Radcliffe takes them on a wild treasure hunt deep in the jungle, where hijinks ensue and romance blossoms. The movie works thanks to Bullock's sharp comedic instincts and her chemistry with Tatum. It's brimming with zany wit and charm, and features a scene-stealing cameo from Bullock's pal and Bullet Train co-star Brad Pitt. 'Hit Man' It's beginning to look like Glen Powell is shaping up to be what Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock were to rom-coms in the '90s and early aughts. In this Richard Linklater-directed romcom-slash-crime caper, he stars as a philosophy professor who moonlights as a fake hitman for police sting operations. He shares the screen with Adria Arjona, who quickly goes from suspect to love interest. On top of Linklater's witty dialogue and sharp humour, Powell and Arjona bring insane chemistry and deliver strong performances that merge screwball and sexy to create something fresh and unique. 'The Fall Guy' David Leitch, director of John Wick , Deadpool 2 and Bullet Train , ventures into rom-com territory with The Fall Guy . The film follows retired stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling), who returns to work on the set of a big-budget action movie his ex, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), is directing, all in a bid to win her back. It's double the charisma and star power with Gosling and Blunt, who share exceptional romantic and comedic chemistry. There's a lot of high-octane action, but at the heart of the movie is the love story between Colt and Jody. NOW READ What is rom-com core and how is it influencing fashion? Rom-com bucketlist? 6 resorts where romantic comedies were filmed Give in to Your Guilty Pleasure: 11 K-Drama Rom Coms That Will Make You Swoon
