MATERIALISTS

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film opens with in a prehistoric era, where a man brings a bunch of flowers to his female partner. He takes one of the flowers and fashions a ring out of it, which he then puts on her finger.

In the present day, Lucy (Dakota Johnson) works as a matchmaker at a company called Adore in New York City. While she has had much success with getting her clients engaged, she has been having issues with one client, Sophie (Zoe Winters), as she has been set up on numerous dates with guys who are not interested in her. Sophie herself has high standards for a potential partner and is disappointed that she keeps ending up on bad dates, even though Lucy tells her that she and the other guys “check off a lot of boxes”.

At work, Lucy is thrown a party by her boss Violet (Marin Ireland), as they are celebrating Lucy’s ninth client getting married over the weekend. Outside, Lucy talks to her friend/coworker Daisy (Dasha Nekrasova) about the situation with Sophie, as well as Lucy’s own expectations with the type of guy she would marry.

Lucy later goes to the wedding of her client Charlotte (Louisa Jacobson), where she talks to other women about her business and hopes to have them as prospective clients. Charlotte’s maid of honor goes to get Lucy, telling her Charlotte needs her. Lucy talks to Charlotte, who is having wedding day jitters and feels that she has to go along with her wedding because of how much money her parents put into it. Lucy asks her why she wants to marry her fiancee Peter, and Charlotte says that it’s because her engagement makes her sister jealous, since it’s clear that she thinks Peter is better than her own husband, and it makes Charlotte feel like she won. Lucy says this is good enough, as she sees value in the marriage, and she convinces Charlotte to go ahead with it. Charlotte and Peter end up married.

During the reception, Lucy is approached by Peter’s brother Harry (Pedro Pascal), who noticed her recruiting earlier. Just as they start to get comfortable with each other, Lucy is surprised to find that one of the waiters at the wedding is her ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans). She later steps outside to have a cigarette with John and catches up with him. He is still trying to be an actor, with little success since they last saw each other. Lucy goes back inside to give Harry her card, though he says he will only contact her if she dances with him. She does, and John sees them together.

John later gives Lucy a ride home. A flashback shows them together in Manhattan on their anniversary, but they are arguing because John chose to drive to a restaurant instead of taking public transportation since he is financially struggling. Lucy gets out of the car in the middle of the street, leading to the two of them arguing in traffic. While Lucy admits that she knows she is wrong for how she feels, she does not enjoy being in a relationship when they are both broke.

Lucy continues her job by dealing with her male clients, who all specifically want young and attractive women. Later, she starts to date Harry, who takes her to a lot of fancy restaurants. Lucy talks about how Harry is the ideal man to a lot of women, being conventionally attractive, charismatic, and very wealthy, though she says that he shouldn’t want to date her. Harry tells Lucy that he is interested in her because of how she sees things and how she values herself. The two later go to Harry’s apartment and sleep together.

John is shown living with two roommates and is still having a hard time with money. He tries to contact Lucy about going to see his play.

Lucy later gets in touch with a client named Mark (voice of John Magaro), who went on a date with Sophie. Mark says that the date went very well and that he liked Sophie, which excites Lucy even though she has not been able to get in touch with Sophie. When she goes to work, Violet informs Lucy that she spoke to Sophie’s lawyer, as Sophie was assaulted by Mark on their date, and she is planning to sue Adore. While Lucy is mortified, Violet advises her not to get in touch with Sophie. Lucy goes to the bathroom and begins crying.

Lucy and Harry later go together to watch John’s play, “Tom and Eliza”. They later join him and the cast and crew for drinks at a bar. When Lucy mentions that an issue from work is bothering her, John just dismisses it since it’s “just dating”. Lucy leaves with Harry.

When meeting with female clients, Lucy becomes frustrated with some of their demands – one woman who is a closeted lesbian republican wants someone who is strictly republican, another wants to be set up with just white guys, and the last one has an extensive list of requirements in a partner – and starts getting blunt with them, leading to her hearing from Violet that the clients have taken themselves off their list. She thinks Lucy is burnt out and needs a break.

Lucy goes incognito to try and find Sophie. She sees Lucy and walks in the opposite direction. When Lucy catches up to her, Sophie calls Lucy out for not looking deeper into Mark’s background and learning that he’s a creep. Lucy tries to defend herself by bringing up the “checked off boxes” comment, but Sophie doesn’t want to hear it and drops Lucy’s services. Lucy later calls John and tearfully tells him about her situation.

At night, Lucy touches Harry’s leg and feels something on it. He pulls back and walks to the kitchen, where Lucy follows him. He admits that he and Peter both had operations to make themselves taller so they would have better luck with women, which worked out for them. This makes Lucy come to admit that she feels she and Harry are not in love with each other, because they were seeing each other superficially. While Harry is upset, he accepts what Lucy says and parts with her amicably.

Lucy later goes to stay with John since she was subletting her apartment for a planned trip to Iceland with Harry. With money from the play, John drives Lucy upstate. They get into a wedding since the catering company he works for is doing the reception. Lucy and John dance during the reception, and they share a kiss. However, John steps outside and feels dismayed, as he does not know where he and Lucy stand in their relationship. He expresses how he always loved her and still sees a future with her, but she doesn’t think there is one since she left him for his lack of money.

Lucy then gets a phone call from Sophie. She is scared because Mark is outside the apartment, and the police are not doing anything because he is not actively trying to break in. John drives Lucy back to Manhattan, though Mark is gone by the time they get there. Lucy goes into Sophie’s apartment to comfort her. She stays with her through the night after they reconcile, and Lucy agrees to help her file a restraining order against Mark. In the morning, Lucy goes outside to find John still waiting on the steps. He tells her one more time how much he loves her and all the changes he is willing to make for them to be together. Lucy finally returns his love and kisses him.

Sometime later, Lucy and John are meeting for lunch in Central Park. Lucy narrates, mentioning how she has dreamt about the first people to fall in love (the couple in the opening), and how things worked out for them through the good and the bad. She gets a call from Violet, who says she is offering her a promotion to her position, but Lucy was planning to resign. She tells Violet she will think about it. John then gives Lucy a flower ring (like the caveman did) and asks if she wants to make a poor financial decision. She accepts.

The credits play over a long shot of various couples, including Lucy and John, going to a courthouse for marriage licenses.

Lucy is a successful matchmaker in Manhattan, though she has not been as lucky in her own love life. At the wedding of one of her clients, she meets the wealthy and charismatic Harry, while also running into her ex-boyfriend John, a struggling actor that she left due to being unable to provide financially. Lucy also manages a client, Sophie, who has had a string of bad dates with men.

Lucy starts dating Harry. She later learns that Sophie was assaulted by a man named Mark that she set her up with, which puts a strain on Lucy's personal relationship with Sophie and also makes her wonder if she is putting people together because they are right for each other or just because it's her job. She eventually realizes that she and Harry are only seeing each other for superficial reasons, and she breaks things off.

Lucy later joins John on a trip upstate, where they are let into a wedding. When Lucy kisses John during a dance, he gets upset because he doesn't know where they stand in their relationship. Lucy then gets a call from Sophie, who is being harassed by Mark outside her apartment. Lucy makes it back to Manhattan with John, and while Mark flees, Lucy helps Sophie file a restraining order. After John expresses how much he loves Lucy and what he is willing to do for her, she agrees to rekindle their relationship.

Lucy and John later get married in a courthouse.