Is Celine Song bugging?
What Materialists didn't tell us about money & dating, and the books that do it better. Spoilers ✨EVERYWHERE✨
Image: IMDB
A clip of Celine Song defending her new film Materialists against “broke boy propaganda” allegations has been making the rounds on social media, and I can’t lie, I do resent that she’s reframed our reception of the film and its characters’ choices as an indictment of us, the audience.
Of course, I agree that poverty isn’t the fault of the poor. I also agree with the film’s central thesis, that in dating, we can often attach someone’s value to arbitrary things that don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, like height.
I’d also argue that the introduction of online dating, where you have to choose who to connect with based on nothing but arbitrary details, has added this dimension to the dating scene. I question whether it really bleeds into real-world dating as much as Materialists suggests. In reality, most people aren’t choosing between a multi-millionaire and someone who is really struggling financially.
I also question why Materialists doesn’t explore Lucy’s own sense of self-worth; why it’s so uncomfortably tied to her salary, how she might consider dating someone more financially stable, and how she could just as easily fall in love with someone outside those two extremes. The film could’ve taken a deeper dive into how finances and money (both rightly and wrongly) shape relationships, how we navigate those tensions, and what it looks like when we can’t. There was just so much fertile ground here that went untouched.
Rom-com fans have been waiting for a Nancy Meyers–esque filmmaker who makes romances that speak to our generation; films with characters whose lives feel lived-in and relatable, and that address the anxieties and questions we have about love and dating today.
My expectations of Celine Song will forever be higher than most because Past Lives so perfectly captured the quiet, aching complexity of longing for someone and agonising over what might have been.
Materialists unfortunately is such a flop in comparison, sidestepping any deeper exploration of the impact of finances on relationships to insist that love is enough and by the way, Dakota Johnson does NOT want Pedro Pascal, and we’re supposed to just buy it and I’m not buying it??
I talk about all of this and how finances are actually impacting our dating behaviours in my latest article on PopSugar, so do give it a read. I had such a lovely chat with Ola from All Things Money for this piece and some of her perspectives are included here too:
Image: PopSugar
I’ve been thinking a lot about dating this year and have read some really interesting things on it. Not because I’ve actually been dating,I’ve instead spent the year psyching myself up to download an app all while secretly hoping God will just drop a man from the sky like He did manna. From my research however, I do have two standouts to recommend.
The Selfish Romantic by Michelle Elman felt like therapy in a book. Her voice on this topic is so gentle and empathetic while also grounded in practical advice, drawing on her extensive dating experience and work as a life coach. She tackles the emotional and psychological side of dating in a way that feels both personal and actionable, making the whole book genuinely therapeutic. I’m such a fan.
The Love Fix by Rachel Thompson takes a data-driven approach, breaking down dating patterns, behaviours, and trends in a clear and insightful way. It shows the “why” behind our current choices and experiences in the modern dating world without over-simplifying or lecturing.