Jacob Roberts as Ben and David Treviño as Jordan in a scene from "Rent Free." (Photo courtesy of Cinephobia Releasing.)
It opens doors when you have it, slams them shut when you don't. The pursuit of money, and the opportunities it brings, is an all-American endeavor that seeps into various aspects of our lives. It's the fire that fuels those driven to achieve their goals, be it a cushier job, a fancier home or even romantic fulfillment. The almighty dollar beckons these go-getters with its siren call.
The subject is, of course, no stranger to the movies, since it has provided inspiration for many a celebrated motion picture, and even more justly forgotten ones. But when it comes to the cinema calendar, these narratives tend to pop up during the fall and the dreaded year-end glut of awards-season hopefuls. To see them released during the summer, with its emphasis on escapist fare, is rather unusual.
And yet here we are, as June comes to an end, with two money-obsessed titles that explore that delicate intersection of relationships and the economy. Both are sophomore efforts from their respective filmmakers, and both center on protagonists who place considerable importance on how money will help them reach the next chapter in their lives. Let's take a closer look.
“Rent Free”: Life just feels fuller with each other in their lives. So it goes with Ben and Jordan, two besties from Texas who refuse to let the fact that they're broke get in the way of a good time. The twentysomething pals don't know it yet, but the friendship at the center of this winning indie flick is about to be put through the wringer.
David Treviño as Jordan and Jacob Roberts as Ben in a scene from "Rent Free." (Photo courtesy of Cinephobia Releasing.)
Writer-director Fernando Andrés starts things off in Brooklyn, where Jordan (newcomer David Treviño) is visiting Ben (Jacob Roberts) to help him celebrate his big move and his big plans to make a go of it in the Big Apple, a culmination of a hard-fought quest to put the Lone Star State in the rearview mirror. But the dream crumbles overnight when Ben sabotages his living arrangement with reckless disregard for discretion or propriety.
Things don't get any better as the film, which made its world premiere at last year's Tribeca Film Festival and screened earlier this year at the Miami Film Festival, brings the characters back home to Austin. Jordan's girlfriend Anna (Molly Edelman) gives him the boot, a move spurred by the fact he brought Ben back with him, then had the gall to ask if he could stay with them “until he figures things out.” So now these good-looking but hapless dudes are broke and homeless.
You're probably wondering what is up with these two, and Andrés isn't coy about it. Ben is strong coffee, a trouble magnet who makes enemies and creates chaos wherever he goes. Ben's in-your-face attitude, however, hasn't prevented him from enjoying a steady succession of Grindr hookups. He's got game, and a healthy libido. Jordan, who, unlike Ben, is (mostly) into women, has the opposite problem: a reticence about standing up for himself and a noticeable lack of impetus when it comes to his photography career. Ben, by contrast, pounds the pavement to make a buck via a food delivery app.
Jacob Roberts as Ben and David Treviño as Jordan in a scene from "Rent Free." (Photo courtesy of Cinephobia Releasing.)
The bulb lights up over Ben's head during a house party. The duo has no shortage of mutual friends and acquaintances. What if they spent an entire year crashing on their couches so they can save enough money to then move to New York together? Bingo! A possible way out of a pretty big mess.
The idea sure sounds good in theory, but as “Rent Free” sends the pair from one home to another, you feel the walls closing in on them. An extended stay at the apartment of a well-off gay man and his chiseled kept boy, for instance, yields all sorts of awkward complications. (The film's extensive ensemble cast is its secret weapon; they add authenticity and give the leads a good sounding board for their metastasizing dilemma.)
The strain of the constant moves causes Ben and Jordan's tight bond to start coming apart at the seams, something the filmmaker enhances with the occasional use of split screen. It sounds like a sobering ordeal, what they're going through, but what makes Andrés' film special is how affable it remains in the face of these unrelenting setbacks. The filmmaker uses the mold of a traditional buddy comedy to comment on the daunting challenges Gen-Zers face trying to make ends meet, let alone chart a path forward in life. This is also the story of a queer friendship, but one that approaches queerness with matter-of-fact nonchalance. Its lived-in naturalism allows situations that could easily feel contrived to unfold organically.
Credit the stars with selling these freeloaders' platonic, yin/yang connection. Roberts' cornfed looks bring to mind the young Matthew Modine and the young Jeff Bridges blended together, only geekier and more confrontational, whereas Treviño suggests the love child of “Game of Thrones” and “The Haunting of Hill House” star Michiel Huisman and Diego Luna. What's intriguing about the way Andrés depicts these characters is that Ben reveals an inner resilience after initially coming across as a walking disaster, and Jordan's boy-next-door appeal masks deep-seated neuroses.
Is this Molotov cocktail of codependency, with its believable ups and downs, destined to blow up? As Ben and Jordan stumble and keep getting back up, Andrés provides a wise, bittersweet response, delivering a character-driven keeper that's clear-eyed about these friends' shortcomings yet fiercely affectionate about how their mutual devotion deepens and evolves. He's made a lovely film, an ideal way to close out Pride Month.
David Treviño as Jordan and Jacob Roberts as Ben in a scene from "Rent Free." (Photo courtesy of Cinephobia Releasing.)
“Materialists”: Whereas “Rent Free” is flying under the radar, this high-profile A24 release touts its A-listers being charming in front of the screen and the acclaimed filmmaker calling the shots. When the filmmaker is question is playwright-turned-moviemaker Celine Song, expectations are high that the Oscar nominee will further expand on the themes she introduced in “Past Lives,” her deeply felt portrait of cultural displacement and missed connections.
It gives me no pleasure to report that Song is not immune to the sophomore slump. “Materialists,” at its best a ferocious depiction of dating as a gladiator arena, was marketed as a frothy romantic comedy, complete with clips posted to social media of stars Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal being playful with each other. The finished product is an altogether different animal, a bitter deconstruction of dating and relationships that uses tropes one tends to associate with rom-coms.
Dakota Johnson as Lucy and Chris Evans as John in a scene from "Materialists." (Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima. Courtesy of A24)
But, if anything, “Materialists” is anti-romance, and despite some leaden stabs at levity (not Song's forte), it's not funny in the least. The story revolves around Lucy (Johnson), a coolly effective New York City matchmaker with a peachy track record for getting her clients hitched and a vacant, thoroughly unfulfilling personal life. In what's perhaps the film's strongest scene, she coaxes a bride with cold feet out of her trepidation by speaking to her in terms of financial assets. Crisis averted.
At this particular wedding reception, Lucy is approached by Harry (Pascal). Suave, attentive and filthy rich, Harry is what Lucy, in her Darwinian line of work, coins a unicorn. So she politely rebuffs this tall, dark and handsome suitor who's into private equity and stealing the show at other people's nuptials. Besides, it's not as if Lucy's fully gotten her ex John (Evans), a struggling actor whose money problems contributed to their breakup. She's not going back to that (financial and emotional) grind, No, siree.
Dakota Johnson as Lucy and Pedro Pascal as Harry in a scene from "Materialists." (Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima. Courtesy of A24)
But Harry has Lucy's number. He's every bit as pragmatic as she is, so he reads her like a map, and won't be deterred from acquiring this personal asset for his life portfolio. As John, still smarting over losing Lucy, watches from a distance, Lucy steps into Harry's world of privilege, as she juggles some problem clients at work, like the chronically single Sophie (Zoë Winters, the film's actual MVP).
The first half of “Materialists” is reasonably engrossing, a razor-sharp takedown of New Yorkers' obsession with capital. Yes, it's too serious, closer to Edith Wharton than Jane Austen, and the dialogue is too theatrical by half, but it's also cerebral and stimulating. Song begins to lose her way when it's clear she hasn't figured out what to do with Harry, a character with so much potential that is sadly left largely unexplored.
John presents a larger obstacle. Song has sketched Lucy's ex-boyfriend in broad strokes, thus depriving him of the complexities she has given the women in the film. She also cast Captain America as a broke-ass ne'er-do-well, which, let's face it, is not shrewd casting. Evans, to his credit, tries to give the character inner life, but he's cut off at the knees by the limitations of a script that's at once overly wordy and half-baked, especially when it comes to John.
Dakota Johnson as Lucy in a scene from "Materialists." (Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima. Courtesy of A24)
Don't blame Johnson. The “Fifty Shades of Grey” and “Peanut Butter Falcon” star gets a bad rap for what her detractors insist is a stiff screen presence and a knack for picking bad projects, but she gives a nuanced, finely modulated performance here. Lucy's imperfections make her all the more engaging.
“Materialists” is ultimately ruined by a dark story turn, involving one of Lucy's clients, that gives the material a dramatic weight it's unable to carry. By that point, however, the film has already lost the thread, held hostage by a patronizing streak that turns it into the cinematic equivalent of a TED talk about New Yorkers wealthy enough to afford a matchmaking service. It lacks precisely the spontaneity you see in the kind of rom-coms the marketing team at A24 would have you believe this is. When the end credits began rolling, the predominantly female audience at my showing sat in stony silence. They recognize the fizzle of a lackluster date night when they see it.
Dakota Johnson as Lucy and Pedro Pascal as Harry in a scene from "Materialists." (Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima. Courtesy of A24)
“Rent Free” is now available on Video on Demand across various platforms. “Materialists” continues its theatrical run in wide release, including at Regal South Beach, Silverspot Cinema in downtown Miami, CMX Brickell City Centre, The Landmark at Merrick Park and Cinema Paradiso Hollywood.
