From the perspective of a matchmaker IRL – Contains Spoilers Alert!
⭐️⭐️☆☆☆

As an experienced professional matchmaker and a true romantic, I really wanted to love The Materialists. The swoon-worthy previews and star-studded cast had me genuinely excited to see how they’d portray a high-end matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) navigating her own complicated love triangle (between Pedro Pascal & Chris Evans). Sign me up, right?

But while the film flirts with meaningful themes like ‘love over status’, ‘connection over checklists’, it ultimately falls flat. I’m usually the first to cry at a love story, but this had the emotional depth of a puddle.

I’ll give it some credit; the early scenes nailed some of the exact conversations I hear every day. Lucy’s (Dakota Johnson) clients, rattle off their “ideal partner” requirements: age, income, job title, education level. Funnily enough, I even had a client get the leg extension surgery to boost their height by a few inches (not something I advised, for the record!) So, the film isn’t entirely off-base in capturing how modern dating can hyper fixate on shallow filters and obsess over optics.

But here’s where things don’t quite cut it: real matchmaking is not about surface-level stats. As experienced relationship professionals, we are poised in screening singles for emotional maturity, shared life vision, values, and mutual compatibility. Not once did I hear Lucy ask anything with depth, questions about what lights someone up, their core values and what their partnership goals are. She reinforces the dating status quo around pairing people who look good together on paper, rather than exploring who’s truly aligned on a deeper level.

Spoiler alert: By far the most jarring moments in The Materialists comes after a sexual assault incident between someone Lucy sets her client up with. Lucy’s boss states that sexual misconduct is something that is a ‘known risk’ in a very matter of fact tone. I was genuinely shocked. In my years as a professional matchmaker, and in conversations with colleagues at Maclynn across the globe who’ve worked in this field for over 20 years. I can confidently say that is not the norm, nor should it be portrayed as such. Lucy herself crosses multiple professional boundaries with a client, casting further doubt on the ethics of this fictional “Adore” agency.

In contrast, as a matchmaker at Maclynn — an international consultancy operating for over 14 years — we uphold high standards of professionalism and care. Our relationship experts conduct in-depth match screenings that focus on lifestyle, values, and long-term goals to create truly compatible pairings. While no matchmaker can promise love, we offer a far more thoughtful, secure, and intentional approach to dating relative to chance encounters or the world of apps.

Now back to Lucy and her own romantic pickle. She’s torn between her broke ex who hasn’t evolved in years, and a unicorn of a gentleman who’s clearly all in. While I saw it coming that she’d forgo the millionaire hunk for the handsome former flame, it was still frustrating to watch her fall back into comfortable patterns. She seems to conveniently forget the resentment she carried for so long, likely setting herself up for the exact same ending she once worked so hard to move past.

To be fair, the film does try to champion the idea that love transcends superficial criteria. That’s a message I support. But the execution didn’t match the intention — especially for anyone who knows what matchmaking really looks like when done well.

Materialists is a pretty setup with all the right elements but lacking the depth — and discernment — that makes real love stories stick.