Love may be blind, but a line from the A24 release Materialists wasn’t fooling anyone, especially not the actors saying it. Chris Evans and Dakota Johnson didn’t hold back when it came to one of the key moments in their new romantic drama. They pretty much called it out for being terrible and, honestly, it’s easy to see why!
Both Johnson and Evans recently spoke with Josh Horowitz of MTV while promoting their 2025 movie release. During the interview (shared via the outlet’s official Instagram account), Johnson didn’t mince words about how she felt as the Captain America performer delivered that moment from the film’s script. “I hated that line,” she said flatly, to Evans’ immediate and knowing laughter. The line in question was:
When I see your face, I see wrinkles and children that look like you.
That line from the critically well-received Materialists was supposed to be heartfelt—a confession of love laced with time, intimacy and the beauty of aging together. But, to the film’s leads, it sounded less like the type of swooning you’d expect from the best romantic comedies and more like a back-handed roast. Chris Evans, equally baffled by the structure of the sentence, explained:
I always felt that the beginning of the line doesn’t sound the way we want it: ‘When I look at your face I see wrinkles and gray hair and children that look like you.’ And I was like, is there any world that that starts out the wrong way?”
Johnson echoed the sentiment. She hilariously quipped:
That’s all I heard. For the entire movie. Every single scene we had together.
The two actors cracked up together as they remembered the line. Still, the piece of dialogue made it into the final cut. Why? According to Evans, it was a direct call from director Celine Song, who stood by the line’s emotional intent. He added:
But you know, this is a testament to Celine because I agreed with that sentiment. I was like, I just don’t know. Does it sound not great? We landed in the end by saying ‘and children that look like you,’ but she was just like, ‘No, keep it.’ And I do think it works.
Dakota Johnson wasn’t ready to rest her case. “Imagine this,” she said, preparing to reenact the moment. She locked eyes with Evans. “Look at me with love in your eyes,” she demanded. He braced himself. Then she delivered it again, in her perfectly deadpan signature way:
When I look at your face, I see wrinkles.
Evans broke into laughter, pretty much proving her point. On the surface, Materialists might look like a typical rom-com, but that label doesn’t quite do it justice. Awkward line aside, the film dives deeper than your average romantic comedy. That’s in great part due to the efforts of Celine Song, as she managed to craft a nuanced story.
In the film, Dakota Johnson plays a professional matchmaker who’s great at helping others find love, but struggles to find it for herself. Caught between a charming, wildly wealthy suitor (Pedro Pascal) and a complicated ex (Chris Evans), she’s forced to confront what she really wants.
Writing compelling dialogue can be difficult, as even the best screenwriters have a miss here and there. Still, it’s hard not to find the humor in the fact that Johnson and Evans don’t take one line from their latest film too seriously. Nevertheless, check out Materialists, as it’s still in theaters.
