‘Materialists’ is a romcom with a lot on its mind [Video]

In an age where you can toss anything you desire into an online shopping cart, even love can approximate a business transaction. But as Celine Song’s romcom “Materialist” illustrates, romance keels toward the unruly and can’t really be manufactured or programed to our specific needs. And that’s what makes her sophomore feature one of the most unexpectedly romantic dramedies in some time, a shrewd, relatable story that celebrates the absolute messiness of romance and does so with intelligence and humor.

Dakota Johnson tackles one of her more challenging roles and gets well-cast as icy New York matchmaker Lucy, a mover and shaker in full control of her emotions and someone who applies a clinical eye to her sought-out services. She leaves nothing to fate or chance and the matchmaking she orchestrates invariably leads to forming a mutual contract that looks good both on paper and in photos.

Lucy continues to …