Overview

• German critics commend Celine Song for extending her Past Lives critique to Materialists, repurposing romantic-comedy tropes to dissect late-capitalist and platformized dating systems.
• They praise Dakota Johnson’s Lucy, a New York matchmaker who screens potential partners by strict income, height and appearance criteria, as a sharp embodiment of love treated like a market transaction.
• Reviewers highlight the film’s exploration of ageism and gendered power dynamics, illustrating how wealth reinforces male structural control while women face heightened rejection.
• They emphasize a pivotal scene of sexual harassment against Lucy’s client, underlining the morally fraught underbelly of the elite matchmaking industry.
• Critics note explicit details — from sub-$100,000 income floors and 1.80 m height rules to a $12 million Manhattan loft — that anchor the satire in elite New York dating culture.