June Movies Part 2: Materialists and Lilo & Stich

Do you want a family-friendly live-action remake of a classic animated movie? Or a grown-up romcom about the perils of dating in the big city and having to choose between money or love? If the answer is both, keep reading!

Materialists: Writer-director Celine Song is back with another love triangle, this time between Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a matchmaker in New York City, her ex-boyfriend, John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor/cater-waiter still waiting for his big break in his late thirties, and Harry (Pedro Pascal), a handsome, rich man who meets Lucy at his brother's wedding, which Lucy is responsible for as she was his brother's matchmaker. Talk about a meet cute.

Lucy and John broke up years ago because they were always broke and fighting about money. So naturally Lucy is intrigued by Harry, a man who seems to be a "unicorn" in the NYC dating world and has everything she thought she wanted in a partner. But as the movie progresses, it's clear that while financially, Harry may have everything to offer, emotionally, John is the person she turns to. Who will she choose in the end?! That's for you to watch and discover.

While Song's previous film, Past Lives, was my #1 movie of 2023, this movie is not as polished and the story beats and dialogue oftentimes have a feeling of black box theater. I love this cast, I obviously love anything set in NYC, and the score by Daniel Pemberton is lovely. But this screenplay is throwing too much at the wall and nothing quite sticks. You'll probably learn a lot about yourself in terms of your reaction to Lucy's final choice of partner, so that's a fun introspective exercise. But there's a side-plot involving one of Lucy's clients that a lot of people are up in arms about because it comes out of nowhere and then is dealt with in a rather messy fashion that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Ultimately, I enjoyed this movie as a parable about the horrors of dating in NYC in your thirties - there are some great montages when Lucy is interviewing her clients and cataloguing their increasingly insane demands. All of that stuff makes for great comedy, but ultimately, I was not sold on the romance.

Lilo & Stitch: My husband loves the original 2002 animated film, and we even went to Kauai for our honeymoon and took a picture next to the Lilo & Stitch mural in Hanapepe. If you're that kind of fan, this movie will certainly delight you. As a more ambivalent fan, I still found reasons to enjoy this movie, particularly the excellent choices made by the casting director. 

Maia Kealoha, who plays Lilo, a young Hawaiian girl who finds the alien Stitch and adopts him as her dog, is deliciously charming, though over the course of two hours, hearing her scream out loud did remind me of why I don't want to have children. And Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, who plays Lilo's older sister and guardian Nani, who is struggling to take care of the bills and provide for her sister after the untimely death of their parents, is simply wonderful, a stoic, loving presence in the face of much insanity. But my favorite casting choice was Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen as the two aliens sent to Earth to capture Stitch. Magnussen in particular is always excellent at goofy physical comedy and I couldn't help but grin every time he was on screen.

Of course, one is always forced to ask when reviewing a live-action remake, does this movie need to exist? My answer is mostly, no. But there are a few intriguing deviations from the original script, and again, this cast is so charming that they make it worth it your while. Despite the title of this film, the only character I truly empathize with in this story is Nani, a woman who is trying so hard to be a responsible and good person but keeps getting thwarted by her sister and her "dog." So, I was glad to see how this film dealt with her character and ultimately let her be the hero of the story. Justice for Nani!