Romantic comedies often draw from the classics, but who would have thought that Dakota Johnson’s latest movie, Materialists, would take some elements from Tom Cruise’s Jerry Maguire? The 1996 sports dramedy is wildly different from the movie it inspired, but both explore the tension between transactional success and emotional authenticity.
They prove that whether you are negotiating endorsements or bringing two people together, the heart of the story is always a human connection. So, here’s how Jerry Maguire and two other mega-starrers unknowingly shaped Materialists.
How Materialists took inspiration from Tom Cruise’s Jerry Maguire
A24 recently publicized their references for Materialists on X (formerly Twitter), and revealed that Jerry Maguire shaped the professional aspect of its character, which could be Dakota Johnson’s Lucy, who shares a few similarities with Tom Cruise’s Jerry because they are both high-stakes intermediaries.
Materialists movie syllabus via Celine https://t.co/IdY1RaV6ny pic.twitter.com/yUV11sTFgf
— A24 (@A24) June 12, 2025
Jerry is a sports agent who thrives on negotiation, representing athletes, and securing lucrative deals, all while balancing public image, and Lucy is a luxury matchmaker at a firm that treats love like a business transaction. She pairs clients based on their income, education, and even BMI.
Essentially, both are part of industries where success is measured in numbers; for Jerry, it’s the contracts signed, and for Lucy, it is the marriages arranged. But both their professions make them question whether they should prioritize profit over genuine connection.
While Jerry goes from being immersed in corporate greed to personal integrity, Lucy begins to see love as more than just a spreadsheet calculation. The two have emotional breakthroughs, and even though they once started as smooth operators. Life turns them into people who embrace vulnerability, proving that the best agents (whether in sports or love) are the ones who truly care!
The two other movies that shaped Materialists
A24’s list of references also includes two other unexpected movies: Hail, Caesar! and Moneyball. Like Dakota Johnson’s Lucy in Materialists, the protagonists of these movies are also fixers, negotiators, and data-driven professionals in their own right.
For example, Josh Brolin’s Eddie Mannix in the classic black comedy Hail, Caesar! also operates in a world obsessed with image. He manages crises such as keeping stars out of scandals, and similar to Lucy, he is a behind-the-scenes architect who carefully curates relationships. On the other hand, we have Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane, who revolutionized baseball by using analytics to recruit undervalued players.
Lucy’s matchmaking also operates on the same principles, as she evaluates partners based on metrics rather than chemistry. All the movies that inspired Materialists featured someone who manipulates outcomes in high-stakes industries. So, the Johnson starrer might be a romantic comedy, but its roots run deeper than they meet the eye.
Materialists is currently in theaters (USA).
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
