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Materialists is not the usual kind of rom-com. 90s rom-com days are gone. It's time for romance comedies with a fresher perspective that feels relevant to the present. Materialists becomes a flag bearer for the new age of rom-coms with a clever take on how love and money mingle today.
Directed by Celine Song, the movie follows Lucy (played by Dakota Johnson). Lucy is a sharp, logically minded matchmaker who earns a specific sum: $80,000 a year. That number is spotlighted in the movie, and it changes how we look at the entire story.
Lucy makes $80,000. This number is not hidden behind lush apartments or designer dresses. Song makes sure it’s spoken out loud. And it matters. She meets Harry Castillo (Pedro Pascal). He is a finance guy living in a penthouse in a posh area and making comfortably more than she. The movie doesn’t beat around the bush. Lucy asks, and Harry answers: “More.”
It’s explicit, and it’s bold. In most rom-coms, we “just know” if someone’s rich. But here, it’s spelled out. Lucy’s career lets her mix with wealthy clients at exclusive events and wear elegant outfits. But her own income is no secret. And that difference matters.
Materialists: Why saying the number changes everything (and why it feels so refreshingly real)
When was the last time you watched a rom-com where someone said how much they make? Not hinted at, not shown through designer shoes or skyline apartments, but said it. In Materialists, Celine Song goes bold on the genre by making money part of the actual conversation.
Lucy doesn’t believe in vague fairytales. She’s practical, logical, and unapologetically realistic about love and money. So, when she tells Harry Castillo that she makes $80,000 a year, it’s a statement. It defines not just who she is, but how she approaches relationships. It’s her way of saying where she stands. It's honest and direct.
In that small, casual exchange, the movie does something bigger than most rom-coms dare. It acknowledges the unspoken truth about modern dating. Money matters. Not because love isn’t important, but because value is. The value you bring to a relationship, the stability you offer, and the future you can build together.
For Lucy, love isn’t just chemistry. It’s math, logic, and a shared understanding of what life costs. And honestly, that feels very 2025. In a world where apps can filter potential matches by income bracket and where financial transparency is finally becoming less taboo, Materialists feels relevant, relatable, and refreshingly honest.
By saying the number out loud, the movie talks about reality. And in doing so, it gives the rom-com genre the upgrade it didn’t even know it needed.
Celine Song talks about this with The New York Times:
"… Eighty grand a year. We don’t actually talk about money as openly as I want to because there’s a really weird thing where everybody goes, “It’s not polite.” And I’m like, “Well, it’s not polite to rich people.” Let’s be realistic about that: It’s not polite to people who don’t want you to know how much money they have. There’s a scene where Lucy says to Harry, “This is how much money I make. Do you make more than this?” And he goes, “More.”"
Celine Song in Materialists is making a very deliberate point about how conversations around money, especially personal income, are still considered taboo. But that taboo mainly serves to protect people who benefit from the secrecy.
It maintains a power imbalance. If you don't know how much someone makes, you can't fully understand the dynamic in a relationship, romantic or otherwise.
In the scene from Materialists, when Lucy tells Harry exactly how much she earns and bluntly asks if he makes more, and he just replies, “More,” it strips away the polite performance. It brings the financial power dynamics in dating right out into the open.
It also reflects how, in real life, money does influence relationships, compatibility, and expectations. Even if movies and society like to pretend love floats above all that.
In short, Materialists is more about honesty, equality, and being upfront about the realities that shape relationships, rather than just romance.
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