logo
Ellen Pompeo Attends an Event at the Tribeca Festival in N.Y.C., Plus Ben Stiller, Kevin Durant and More

Ellen Pompeo Attends an Event at the Tribeca Festival in N.Y.C., Plus Ben Stiller, Kevin Durant and More

Yahoo10 hours ago

Stars have been everywhere this week. In New York City, Ellen Pompeo attends a Storytellers event at the Tribeca Festival. Meanwhile, Ben Stiller watches an F1 qualifying race in Montreal while Kevin Durant talks to fans at the PSG House in L.A., and Ashanti strikes a pose at the American Black Film Festival in Miami Beach, Fla.
Here are the best photos of celebs out and about this week. Come back tomorrow for more of the latest A-list outings!
Ellen Pompeo attends Storytellers during the 2025 Tribeca Festival at Spring Studios in N.Y.C. on June 14.
Ben Stiller watches qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal on June 14.
Kevin Durant is joined by fans at the PSG House in L.A. to celebrate his exclusive collection, 'From DC to Paris," on June 14.
Ashanti strikes a pose at Peacock's Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together discussion during Day 3 of the American Black Film Festival in Miami Beach. Fla., on June 13.
Shrinking castmates Ted McGinley, Lukita Maxwell, Allyson Fanger, Michael Urie, Rachel Stubington and Devin Kawaoka attend the Paul Smith X Shrinking costume event at Paul Smith on June 12.
Mariska Hargitay is supported by her Law & Order: SUV costar Christopher Meloni at the premiere of her documentary film My Mom Jayne: A Film By Mariska Hargitay at the 2025 Tribeca Festival in New York City on June 13.
Jamie Lee Curtis attends the Tribeca Festival premiere of My Mom Jayne: A Film By Mariska Hargitay at New York City's Carnegie Hall on June 13.
Lizzo unveils a new blonde hairdo while in an eye-catching look in homage to Janet Jackson while stepping out for dinner in Los Angeles on June 13.
Olivia Wilde smiles on the red carpet at the 71st Taormina Film Festival on June 13 in Taormina, Italy.
Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy get cozy on the red carpet at the Tribeca Festival premiere of My Mom Jayne: A Film By Mariska Hargitay on June 13 in New York City.
Harry Connick Jr. and Cher catch up as they attend the premiere of My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay at Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 13.
Dionne Warwick smiles for the camera while taping a segment for Good Night New York on June 13 in New York City.
Nick Jonas stands out in a stylish printed co-ord as he takes a stroll in New York City on June 13.
Jurnee Smollett discusses her new AppleTV+ show Smoke at a screening and panel event by SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations on June 13 in New York City.
Rita Ora makes an effortlessly chic exit from an office in East London wearing a sheer white blouse, ripped jeans and studded belt on June 13.
Ashanti strikes a pose at the 2025 American Black Film Festival at the New World Center in Miami on June 13.
Idris Elba flashes a grin while being honored by the MOBO Awards with a Paving the Way stone on June 13 in London.
Conan O'Brien is joined by Martin Short (not pictured) on an episode of Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend at SiriusXM Studios in New York City on June 13.
Martin Short arrives with a smile on his face for a taping of Conan O' Brien Needs a Friend at SiriusXM Studios in New York City on June 13.
Jesse Williams takes the mic during an appearance at the Taormina Film Festival on June 13 in Taormina, Italy.
Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman take a trip to the top of the Empire State Building to celebrate their movie Oh, Hi! on June 13 in New York City.
Olivia Wilde poses during the photo call at the Taormina Film Festival on June 13 in Taormina, Italy.
With his helmet in hand, Hugh Jackman arrives at Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City on June 13.
Jermaine Dupri steps out for the STARZ: Come Play in Our World event at the American Black Film Festival in Miami on June 13.
Princess Eugenie celebrates the launch of the "Thirty Six For Coral" art exhibition on June 12 in Nice, France.
Blair Underwood has his portrait taken at the 2025 American Black Film Festival at the New World Center in Miami on June 13.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler poses at an event for Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story during the 2025 Tribeca Festival at BMCC Theater in New York City on June 13.
Brooks Nader is glowing while out for dinner at Craig's in L.A. on June 12.
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi is back on the Jersey Shore, this time to hand out Bliss Beach Day SPF Kits on June 13.
Grimace joins Loud Luxury at a party celebrating the mascot's birthday at McDonald's Chicago flagship restaurant on June 12.
Brooke Shields is joined by her daughter Rowan Henchy pose at the opening night Call Me Izzy at Studio 54 Theatre in New York City on June 12.
Taylor Swift is back in her sporty era as she joins boyfriend Travis Kelce at game four of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida on June 12.
Dua Lipa takes it all in from the stage as she performs at Sportpaleis in Antwerpen, Belgium on June 12.
Kristin Chenoweth and Gracie Abrams share a sweet moment on the red carpet at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala at Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City on June 12.
Ben Stiller chats during the Gonzo Girl premiere during Tribeca Festival at SVA Theatre in New York City on June 12.
Christian Slater shows his support for Patricia Arquette at the premiere of her directorial debut, Gonzo Girl, at SVA Theatre during the 2025 Tribeca Festival on June 12.
Julianne Moore takes her seat for an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on June 12 in New York City.
Jean Smart and Rose Abdoo celebrate the opening of Call Me Izzy at Versa in New York City on June 12.
John Mayer joins Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett for a live taping of SmartLess at Avalon Hollywood on June 12.
Caitlin McHugh and John Stamos pose with their son Billy Stamos at the 54th annual Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala at Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on June 12.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest step out together for the 25th anniversary screening of Best in Show at BMCC Theater in New York City during Tribeca Festival on June 12.
Rita Ora flashes a smile and a wave ahead of her appearance at Heart Breakfast Radio Studios in London on June 13.
Robin Roberts and Amber Laign pose together at the opening night of Call Me Izzy in New York City on June 12.
Jill Vedder, Harper Vedder, Olivia Vedder and Eddie Vedder attend the premiere of Matter of Time at Tribeca Festival on June 12 in New York City.
Rick Gomez and Steve Zahn take their seats inside a cocktail party hosted by Kentucky during Tribeca Festival on June 9 at the Soho Grand Gallery in New York City.
Tallulah Willis celebrates the launch of Louboutin's Nude Capsule with Jason Bolden and Cultured at Damn, I Miss Paris in L.A. on June 12.
Meryl Streep, David Beckham and Kate Winslet pose together at the King's Foundation Awards ceremony at St. James's Palace in London on June 12.
Hugh Jackman heads to Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City on June 12.
John Cusimano and Rachael Ray bring date night to the 2025 North Shore Animal League America's Celebration of Rescue on June 12 at Tribeca 360 in New York City.
Nicky Hilton attends the launch of Macrene actives at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City on June 12.
Kaia Gerber stuns in a bright red dress for Thursday's premiere of Gonzo Girl on June 12 at SVA Theatre in New York City.
Julia Fox poses at the opening night of Call Me Izzy at the Studio 54 Theatre on June 12 in New York City.
Michelle Buteau opts for orange while out and about in New York City on June 12.
Fat Joe and LL Cool J take their seats inside the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City on June 12.
Ali Wentworth and Beth Ostrosky Stern pose with some adorable companions at the 2025 North Shore Animal League America's Celebration of Rescue on June 12 at Tribeca 360 in New York City.
Jane Lynch shows off Twenty-One the Standard Poodle at the Best in Show 25th anniversary screening at BMCC Theater the 2025 Tribeca Festival on June 12 in New York City.
Paul Feig and Awkwafina give a pair of thumbs up at a tastemaker event for Another Simple Favor at CAA in L.A. on June 10.
Jurnee Smollett and Anna Chlumsky strike a pose at the premiere of Smoke during Tribeca Festival at SVA Theatre on June 12 in New York City.
Emily Blunt and Sienna Miller squeeze in a hug at the opening night for the new play Angry Alan at Studio Seaview Theatre on June 11 in New York City.
Gabrielle Union shows off her radiant smile as she poses for a portrait at the 2025 American Black Film Festival in Miami on June 12.
Becky G happily poses with the Playbill for Real Women Have Curves on Broadway after catching a show on June 11.
Nick Jonas gives his signature smolder as he attends the Men's Health Lab hosted by Hearst Magazines on June 12 in New York City.
Joey McIntyre, Jonathan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight and Danny Wood of the New Kids On the Block' perform at the Good Morning America show in Times Square, Manhattan on June 12, in New York City.
Martin Scorsese looks sharp in a black tux as he attends the 71st Taormina Film Festival on June 12, 2025 in Taormina, Italy.
Former Succession castmates Arian Moayed, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin pose with Bill Burr during a portrait ceremony honoring Culkin for his performance in Glengarry Glen Ross on June 11 in New York City.
Carrie Coon maximizes her time at Dead Outlaw on Broadway as she steps into a coffin backstage after the show on June 12.
Will Smith watches on during the Baller League U.K. 2025 Final at the 02 Arena on June 12 in London.
Gerard Butler heads into The View on June 12 in New York City
Natalie Portman and her boyfriend Tanguy Destable are spotted taking a train at Montparnasse station in Paris on June 12.
Priyanka Chopra visits The Lion King on Broadway and snaps a pic with cast members Steven Taylor and Ntsepa Pitjeng-Molebatsi in New York.
Chris Brancato and Swizz Beatz pose for cameras at June 11's Godfather of Harlem season 4 finale at Tribeca Film Festival.
Mercedes Ron, Olivia Milch, Jenny Han, Sue Kroll, Lola Tung and Julie Plec pose together at the Escape with Prime Luncheon at Crosby Hotel on June 11 in New York City.
Arnold Snortzenegger steals the spotlight from Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Premiere of Netflix's Fubar season 2 in Los Angeles on June 11.
Blake Lively walks around New York City with a vibrant and colorful outfit on June 11.
Prince William discusses wildlife at a restored wetland in Dartmoor National Park in the United Kingdom on June 11.
Leighton Meester and Christina Hendricks twin with their hair color at the Buccaneers Season 2 Photo Call in New York on June 11.
Colman Domingo looks darling in a peach ensemble while arriving at The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on June 11 in New York City.
Cory Michael Smith, Jason Schwartzman and Ramy Youssef make for a funny trio as they attend HBO's Mountainhead FYC screening, panel and reception at the DGA Theater Complex on June 11 in Los Angeles.
Amy Schumer and Chris Fischer attend the Room To Move premiere during the 2025 Tribeca Festival at SVA Theater on June 11 in New York City.
Alison Brie and Dave Franco gear up for Franco's birthday while at the 71st Taormina Film Festival on June 11 in Italy.
Darren Criss plays guitar at MCNY's Gala, Gotham Dreams at Cipriani 42nd Street on June 11 in New York City.
Allison Williams is the guest at the Death Sex & Money live episode during the 2025 Tribeca Festival at SVA Theater on June 11 in New York City
White Lotus' Aimee Lou Wood smiles and waves as she heads into Jimmy Kimmel Live! on June 11 in Los Angeles.
Gerard Butler, Nico Parker, Mason Thames pose while at the premiere of How to Train Your Dragon during the Tribeca Festival on June 11 in New York.
Gabriel Luna and Chris Pratt throw up their fists at the premiere of Netflix's Fubar in Los Angeles on June 11.
Lance Bass and his husband Michael Turchin look ultra cool at The Hollywood Reporter and GLAAD's celebration of Pride '25 and GLAAD's 40th Anniversary presented by Paramount+ FYC on June 11 in West Hollywood, California.
Jimmy Fallon poses with guest Michelle Monaghan backstage at the Tonight Show on June 11.
Monica Barbaro and Fortune Feimster attend Netflix's Los Angeles premiere of Fubar season 2 at Netflix Tudum Theater on June 11.
Katie Couric brings her bright smile to the 2025 The Public Theater Gala celebrating Hamilton's 10th anniversary and A Chorus Line's 50th anniversary in New York on June 11.
Ethan Hawke and wife Ryan Hawke keep it casual as they attend the Metallica Saved My Life premiere during the Tribeca Festival at BMCC Theater on June 11.
Tina Fey, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Marco Calvani and Erika Henningsen band together for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations screening and Q&A for Four Seasons on June 11 in New York City.
Patrick Schwarzenegger comes to support his father at the premiere of Fubar on June 11 in Los Angeles.
Robert De Niro poses with Chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa while at Vertical's Nobu New York Premiere at Tribeca Festival on June 11.
Fresh off her Tony Awards hosting gig, Cynthia Erivo is cooler than ever while out and about in Midtown, New York on June 11.
Raven-Symoné and her wife Miranda Maday rock matching shades as they attend The Hollywood Reporter and GLAAD's Celebration of Pride '25 and GLAAD's 40th anniversary on June 11 in California.
Helena Bonham Carter and her daughter Nell Burton coordinate in florals as at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition Preview Party 2025 at Burlington House on June 11 in London.
Hillary Clinton and Jean Smart backstage the actress' Call Me Izzy show in New York.
Dionne Warwick visits SiriusXM Studios on June 11 in New York City.
Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman pose for a photo during the Vivid Sydney Unscripted and Unfiltered in conversation press conference at Pier One Sydney Harbour on June 12 in Australia.
Colman Domingo shows off his chiseled arms as he rocks a crispy white tank top in New York on June 11.
Dave Franco and Alison Brie make a picture-perfect pair while on the carpet of the Taormina Film Festival in Italy on June 11.
Henry Cavill rocks longer tresses as he arrives at the Taormina Film Festival with his girlfriend Natalie Viscuso on June 11.
Fresh off their Tony win, Cole Escola takes a photo with Robert De Niro and his daughter, Helen, after performing Oh, Mary! on June 10.
Bryce Dallas Howard wears a sparkling cardigan while heading out of CBS Studios in New York City on June 11.
Zoë Kravitz is spotted heading to the gym in a matching, all-gray outfit on June 11.
Dennis Quaid and his wife Laura Savoie make an appearance at the 71st Taormina Film Festival in Italy on June 11.
Music icon Marc Anthony speaks at the FIFA World Cup One Year Out Celebration in Miami on June 11.
Padma Lakshmi flashes her soft smile as she attends an intimate dinner celebrating chef Mauro Colagreco as the chef partner for The Lake Como Edition on June 11 in New York City.
Paula Patton laughs it up while at The Big Tigger Morning Show with Jazzy McBee at Audacy Atlanta on June 11, 2025.
Ian Somerhalder debuts the first micro-batch, single-barrel bourbon from his brand, Brother's Bond at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge on June 10.
Blac Chyna brings her daughter Dream Kardashian to the grand opening of BET's Pop'N Flavors alongside the Atlanta Falcons' Ray Ray McCloud III and Michelle Stokes.
PEOPLE Senior Editor Dave Quinn chats with Eva Price, Constantine Rousouli, Cassadee Pope and Tess Marshall about their hit Off-Broadway play, Titanique at the 92NY on June 9.
Tom Sturridge gives Alexa Chung a kiss on the cheek as the couple attends the preview of the Royal Academy of Arts' Summer Exhibition on June 11 in London.
Melanie Lynskey and Jason Ritter have a date night at the Astra TV Awards on June 10 in Los Angeles.
Orlando Bloom brings his dog Biggie Smalls to the premiere of Deep Cover in New York City on June 10.
Olivia Munn cuddles with a sweet, four-legged friend from Petco Love while at the Astra TV Awards in Los Angeles.
Kate Middleton gives a friendly smile while in the Cloth Working Centre during a visit to the V&A East Storehouse in London on June 10.
Anna Camp and Rebel Wilson promote their new movie Bride Hard at a skydiving course in Lake Elsinore, California on June 10.
Bryan Cranston looks dapper at the premiere of Everything's Going to be Great at the Tribeca Festival in New York City.
Bryce Dallas Howard wears a daring dress at the Deep Cover premiere at the Tribeca Festival in New York City on June 10.
Read the original article on People

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Michael Jackson's Daughter Paris Shows off Hippie Fashion in a Rare Red Carpet Appearance
Michael Jackson's Daughter Paris Shows off Hippie Fashion in a Rare Red Carpet Appearance

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Michael Jackson's Daughter Paris Shows off Hippie Fashion in a Rare Red Carpet Appearance

Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris Jackson went back to her hippie roots for this rare red carpet moment! For the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, Paris looked so ethereal as she showed off her boho, hippie-like ensemble. As she arrived for the One Spoon Of Chocolate premiere, many couldn't take their eyes off of her, and you probably won't be able to either as you see the photos. More from SheKnows Michael Jackson's Daughter Paris's Glamorous Cannes 2025 Look Is Giving Vintage Vibes Below, see the photos: As you can see, Paris looked so gorgeous in this floral Fendi Couture gown from their Fall-Winter collection in 2019. In the look styled by Jessica Paster, we can also see she rocked black heels, a metallic clutch, and gold jewelry. Along with her gorgeous red carpet look, we can see her rosy makeup look and her beachy, bleach blonde waves! While her red carpet appearances have been on the rare side in 2025, she hasn't failed to turn heads, whether it be in boho looks like this or vintage glamour! Along with being a talented actress and singer, the fashion icon has stayed true to herself over the years. In a previous interview with LVR, she spoke about her eclectic personal style, saying, 'I have had the same style since high school: a combination of Sixties, Seventies, and Nineties. I love a good bellbottom, Earth tones, Doc Martens, ripped leggings, and band T-shirts for day-to-day. It's boho grunge.'Best of SheKnows Every Time Paris Jackson's Bold Red Carpet Fashion Took Our Breath Away Every Single Time Kate Middleton's Royal Fashion Made Us Stop in Our Tracks Ariana Madix, Kristen Stewart, & More Stars Who Had Dramatic Hair Changes

Familiar 'Friends' star first auditioned to play Monica but thinks she lost the role for being 'bigger size than the rest'
Familiar 'Friends' star first auditioned to play Monica but thinks she lost the role for being 'bigger size than the rest'

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Familiar 'Friends' star first auditioned to play Monica but thinks she lost the role for being 'bigger size than the rest'

Could you imagine heading up to apartment 20 at 485 Grove St., or maybe popping by at Central Perk, and seeing someone other than Courteney Cox in the role of Monica Geller? Hello, are you there? Quick, huff on these smelling salts. We're sorry to have sent you into a catatonic state. But the truth is that the cast of Friends did not just happen. It came about through a lengthy process that included some trial and error. And as actress Jessica Hecht, who later played Susan on the NBC sitcom, recently revealed to the good people at Parade, she was nearly cast in the primary role. Though Hecht added that she now thinks she was "a total backup," she then explained that she and the casting director, Ellie Kanner, were chums since high school, having grown up in a small town in Connecticut. When Hecht's agent heard they were still reading people for the parts, she suggested that Hecht head over. "I went in, mostly excited to see Ellie Kanner, and then they started to read me for Monica," she recalled. Obviously, she didn't land the part, and as Hecht told it, "I think looking at me back then, I'm tall and I just had a bigger size than the rest. Now I look at it, and I think how perfect Courteney was, I would have been more of a Lisa [Kudrow], just physically and energetically." As is frequently the case, performers who do well in auditions often make their way into a series in supporting roles. Hecht made 13 appearances as Susan Bunch, the new partner of Ross' (David Schwimmer) ex-wife Carol. But Hecht had some criticism for the way the character developed. "They just wanted a lesbian that didn't look exactly like lesbians had previously, let's be honest," she said. "Use your imagination!' she joked. "They're wonderful. They come in all sizes.' In another recent interview, Hecht admitted some relief that her character never grew into one of the lead roles. "The responsibility of that is more than most people could manage," she said. "That show affecting so many people's lives," she added, "and the actors on that show affecting so many people's lives ... I watch it with awe, and I understand the need for that." Post-Friends, Hecht has worked in films directed by Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen, and David Gordon Green, and had key roles on shows like Breaking Bad and Red Oaks. She's also been nominated for three Tony Awards, including one just this year for her turn in the vaccination drama Eureka Day. For 30 years, she has been married to Adam Bernstein, a director of film, television, and several legendary music videos like the iconic "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot, one of the 20th century's most lasting works of art. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly

‘Materialists' Review: Celine Song's Follow-Up to ‘Past Lives' Is a Rom-Com Played Straight, With Dakota Johnson as a Matchmaker Tangled Up in Love and Money
‘Materialists' Review: Celine Song's Follow-Up to ‘Past Lives' Is a Rom-Com Played Straight, With Dakota Johnson as a Matchmaker Tangled Up in Love and Money

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

‘Materialists' Review: Celine Song's Follow-Up to ‘Past Lives' Is a Rom-Com Played Straight, With Dakota Johnson as a Matchmaker Tangled Up in Love and Money

Back in the day, you would have been hard-pressed to find a bigger fan of 'Sex and the City' than I was. Yet even as I think it's a deliriously great show, a part of me — the movie critic side — has always wondered, in the back of my mind, what 'Sex and the City' might have looked like had it been played, at times, as less of a wild confectionary sitcom and a bit more close to the bone. 'Materialists,' a lavishly charming New York story of love, money, and dating, is the movie that finally answers that question for me. It's the second feature written and directed by Celine Song, who made the wistfully sublime 'Past Lives,' and it stars Dakota Johnson as a stylishly crisp, take-charge professional matchmaker and Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal as the men she winds up caught between. (Evans plays a scruffy aspiring theater actor with no money, Pascal plays a sweet-talking private-equity broker who lives in a $12 million apartment, and you can kind of fill in the rest from there.) More from Variety Dakota Johnson Says 'Madame Web' Flop 'Wasn't My Fault': Decisions Are Made in Hollywood by 'People Who Don't Have a Creative Bone in Their Body' Pedro Pascal, Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa Sign Open Letter Supporting Federal Funding for LGBTQ+ Youth Suicide Prevention Debating the New Emmy Awards Strategy Adopted by Pedro Pascal for 'The Last of Us': Die Early, Submit for Lead 'Materialists' sounds like a romantic comedy, and its distributor, A24, is certainly selling it as one. Yet the film is more like a beguiling contradiction — a rom-com played straight. While it's all too easy to imagine the breezy '90s version of this movie (Sandra Bullock as a matchmaker…who can't match with anyone herself…until she meets the mismatch of her dreams!), 'Materialists' is very much not that movie. It's a sharp and serious social romantic drama full of telling observations about the way we live now, and about how connected that is (or not) to the way we've always lived. And there's a dark side to it. It's 'Sex and the City' filtered through a sobering reality check. The film is set in the elite but real New York society of people searching for mates who truly have it all: the looks, the personality, the good taste, the height (that's a major one), the better-than-mid-range six-figure income. And the reason this rarefied milieu liberates the movie, rather than hemming it into some snooty one-percent demimonde of obnoxiousness, is that it allows 'Materalists' to really be about money — or, rather, the ways that love and money have come to dance together. Lucy (Johnson) is a dating consultant for Adore, a company that makes a promise to each of its clients: 'You're going to marry the love of your life.' The service attempts to live up to that promise by respecting how choosy the clients are, coddling their perfectionism. After a date, Lucy will make a private call to each of the two people to see how it went, and to massage their egos ('He checked a lot of our boxes. And you checked a lot of his'), and to assess whether a second date is in the offing. It's scientific matchmaking with a dollop of feel-good therapy. Adore isn't an online dating app, but the service it provides reflects the shift in consciousness that was brought about by online dating, which turned the very paradigm of 'romance' into an endless shopping mall. It turned the pursuit of love into shopping. You might say that's what it always was, but those of us old enough to remember dating before the Internet can testify: No, it wasn't (not like it is now). Yet even as Lucy's clients, women and men alike, are prima donnas with impossible standards (we see them in witty montages), trying to assemble their ideal 'traits' into a single human being, there's a way the movie also looks back — to the ethos of Jane Austen (which fueled so much of the 'Masterpiece Theatre' genre that held sway before the Internet came in), and to Edith Wharton, that supreme chronicler of love and money who was America's greatest novelist because of how profoundly she explored the intricacy of women's desires. Celine Song's dialogue pings with wit and perception, yet it also flows; it you could bottle that skill, Hollywood would be saved. And Dakota Johnson delivers the most forceful performance I've seen her give. What I think of as that sugary-voiced Dakota Johnson daze, winning as it can be, is gone, replaced by a radiant sharpness that just about tingles. Lucy gets right onto the wavelength of her clients (she's a master of lines like, 'You're not ugly, you just don't have money'), but the mystery of the movie is what she really believes and wants. She seems, in certain ways, like a materialistic social climber herself. But she only makes $80,000 a year, and she's still good friends with her actor ex, John (Evans), who survives as a part-time cater waiter and still has two loser-bro roommates. That sounds like a comic situation (and does produce one bitingly funny scene), but Song doesn't go in for cheap shots or easy laughs. John's lack of success is all too real, and so is the fact that it basically ended his and Lucy's relationship. We see a flashback to their fifth anniversary date, and it's a lived-in disaster of cheapskate bad planning. The message is pesky but powerful: In romance, money matters. I've seen Chris Evans sleepwalk through roles, but not here. He's wide awake, with an anger that just makes his tenderness more appealing. And Pedro Pascal is note-perfect as a character who comes off as the film's equivalent of Chris Noth's Mr. Big. Pascal, looking like Burt Reynolds in his sexy mustache days, is effortlessly winning as the finance honcho who miraculously appears to be as nice as he is entitled. He's what Lucy and the Adore team call a unicorn — the 'perfect' man every woman is looking for. 'Materialists' is a tale of love in the age of endless choice and obsessive control, when people have come to believe they can script and design their own lives. Cosmetic surgery figures into the film's tart exchanges, and into its plot as well (there's an extreme procedure, which costs several hundred grand, that's there to give the audience major pause). Underneath it all, the film recognizes, without ever quite coming out and saying it, that in the new gilded age of aspiration, with all the money increasingly concentrated at the top, 'romance,' for too many people, is becoming a contest to enter the upper strata. (When they throw a ritual party in the Adore offices to celebrate Lucy's ninth match that resulted in a marriage, it's as if they're celebrating a merger.) More and more, the perception is that it's all or nothing. And that its own form of corruption. In a classic rom-com, Lucy's situation would be resolved in a way that's fizzy and a bit crazy, and that would be the champagne pleasure of it all. But 'Materialists,' in its culminating twists and turns, actually runs into a bit of a dilemma due to its straight-on realistic tone. We see which man Lucy belongs with, and we feel the romantic tug between them. Yet there isn't that mad charge of discovery to it, and the film actually has to cheat the money situation a bit (in the moment when we learn that one character has been too much of a financial purist). The film's doesn't give you a surge, and that could limit its popular appeal. 'Sex and the City' had a way of staying light and bubbly. 'Materialists,' at times, feels like 'Sex and the City' made by Eric Rohmer. Yet I mean that (mostly) as a compliment, even if the film, at least at the box office, may not end up showing you the money. Best of Variety The Best Albums of the Decade

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store