Who's looking for a man in finance? Seeing 'Materialists' with the TikToker behind 2024's viral hit.
MANHATTAN — When I met up with Megan Boni outside our local AMC, I'd had her song stuck in my head for weeks.
The content creator, known online as Girl on Couch, went mega-viral last year with a catchy bop about what kind of guy she's looking for.
'I'm looking for a man in finance, trust fund, 6'5', blue eyes,' the now 28-year-old states with playful vocal fry in a video first posted to TikTok before it was remixed by DJs Billen Ted and David Guetta, transcending social media and climbing the charts.
'Man in Finance' might as well be the theme song for Materialists, which I saw at a press screening weeks before. On its first official day in theaters, June 13, Boni and I met up to see the film together.
She grabbed a small popcorn and I got a small Icee, and we both headed inside the frigid theater, which was surprisingly packed for 2 p.m. on a weekday. I asked her what she knew about the movie, and she was only really familiar with its stars. She was dressed comfortably — as was I — but she was headed to the Jersey Shore to meet her parents after the credits rolled. I thanked her for coming to see a random movie with a stranger, and she joked that a free movie was always a good time.
Boni is funny. Right now, she's still in New York City, living off the money from the record deal she signed in 2024, but she's hoping to break in to comedy. I'm hoping that she can help me, someone who hasn't dated in 10 years, crack how accurate this movie is in its assessment of modern love.
In Materialists, Dakota Johnson plays a matchmaker named Lucy whose clients quantify their desires to her, treating people like math problems. They must be above a certain height, below a certain BMI, earn a certain amount of money and reach a number of other standards. A 6'5' man in finance with a trust fund and blue eyes would be a hot commodity, or what Lucy and her coworkers call a unicorn. Matchmakers use this information to pair people up, and people use this information on dating apps to weed through the masses to find those they might be attracted to.
Lucy's also making her own matches. She's torn between two men: One is perfect on paper — kind with a job in finance (Pedro Pascal) — and one is passionate but hopelessly poor (Chris Evans). Boni and I sat in polite silence in plush reclining seats as Lucy's professional and love lives played out onscreen. I thought I had been struck by a sudden onset flu during the screening, but I had mistakenly flipped on the seat warmer button that I didn't know existed, resulting in both chills and a cold sweat. Boni was too focused to notice.
For something that's billed as a romantic comedy, Materialists isn't particularly funny, so I was surprised when I heard Boni laughing throughout it, mostly at mentions of a leg-lengthening surgery that men can get to become taller.
As the credits rolled, we chatted as we descended various sets of stairs and escalators, grabbing a seat outside the concessions area to chat.
'Can I be honest?' Boni said. 'I mean, it was bad.'
She didn't like Lucy. Lucy's mean! For Boni, the moral of the story was difficult to detect — was it just that sometimes people are rich and sometimes they aren't and it's harder for the latter to find love? The character's choices didn't make sense to her.
'I guess it is accurate because some women are psychos,' Boni joked. 'It's not even modern, because the most unrealistic part is when they went on a first [official] date and [Pascal's character] gives [Lucy] a key the next day. I was like, 'What the f*** are you guys doing? He's gonna murder you in your sleep. And he probably would have because he had like no personality.'
I asked her if dating now really feels like turning yourself into a commodity and weighing the qualities of others to calculate who a good match might be. Do people really look for love like they look for houses or groceries, with certain stipulations and nonnegotiables? Does she?
Absolutely not. The 'Man in Finance' song is satire, she said. The list of qualities in the song was intended to make fun of the people who do that, and even more so, making fun of how it's easy to detect which men work in finance because of how they dress and carry themselves. (See: Light blue oxford shirt, black vest, brown loafers)
'I made the video because my goal at the time was to go viral whenever I could,' Boni said. 'I think it was, unfortunately, really relatable for women who only care about what their partner looks like on paper.'
Lucy, obviously, cared a lot. Perhaps that was because of how her parents fought, raised her and talked about money — criteria that are mentioned in the movie as qualities that help matchmakers measure how compatible two people might be. Is Lucy even supposed to be relatable, or just an example of how thinking about dating all the time for work can drive someone crazy?
Boni won't be seeking out Lucy's services, obviously, because she's fictional. But Boni said the popularity of her song has turned her off dating completely. People ask her if she's still looking for a man in finance all the time, and her answer is an emphatic 'No.' She never was.
'I mean, listen. Everyone agrees. If a man is hot, loaded, works in finance or is a lawyer or a doctor or has some other good job — that's hot. But that's a fantasy,' she said, starting to laugh. She was thinking about how Pascal's character, who lived in a $12 million Tribeca penthouse, only had one silk sheet on his bed.
In many ways, Boni meets the criteria that a lot of men are most likely searching for. She's beautiful with perfectly highlighted blond hair, ridiculously funny and down to meet up with a stranger and see a movie on a Friday afternoon. She knows what she wants: She quit her office job when her social media profiles took off, she's taking the steps necessary to succeed as a comedian and she's congenial when questioned by a reporter about a viral post from last year.
'My parents are like, 'Well, don't you want to share your life with someone?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, I do, but I'm not one of those girls,'' Boni said. 'There are two types of girls: Those who make it their life's mission, and they're constantly let down. Psycho girls who go on dates every week. Then there's people like me who don't make that a priority.'
Though she's not much of a dater at the moment, I couldn't shake the fact that commodifying yourself to become the most appealing possible package for someone else is still something that people do all the time online. Especially if you're trying to keep the followers you gained from a moment of peak virality and convert them to people who could sustain your work as a comedian.
'You want to appeal to everyone … but there's repercussions for being you sometimes,' Boni said. 'It's not just a dating problem. I think the internet's to blame … but I'm always trying to present myself in different ways in different places. I'm trying to be hot on Instagram. On TikTok, I'm trying to be a freak. I'm trying to get people's attention.'
To be a modern woman is to be constantly thinking about what you have to offer and how other people might want to utilize that — not just in dating, but in everyday life.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Were Arachnophobes Bugged by Criminal Minds? Is Resident Alien's Joseph Gone for Good? Did Steamy Adults Kiss Launch ‘Ship? More Qs!
We've got questions, and you've (maybe) got answers! With another week of TV gone by, we're lobbing queries left and right about Criminal Minds: Evolution, Adults, Nine Perfect Strangers, Destination X and more! 1 | On last week's , was Joseph's gory, torn-up face (and missing arm!) more disgusting or hysterical? And do you think this will be the last time we ever see Enver Gjokaj? More from TVLine Did John Wick Flick Do TWD Vet Dirty? Did The Chi Devastate? Will Glee 4-Peat at Tonys? Who Has Never Heard of Sabrina Carpenter?! More TV Qs! Is Doctor Who Reunion Inevitable? Did Cleaning Lady Kiss Leave You Cold? How Would SNL Have Handled Trump/ Musk Break-Up? More TV Qs! Glad The Last of Us Spared Dog? Did Rehearsal Give You High Anxiety? Did Survivor 50 Need Fan Input? Vexing Organized Crime Absences? More Qs! 2 | How did The Walking Dead: Dead City's Negan manage to haul a ventilator out of Bellevue and back to the church? 3 | Bravo fans, were you surprised to see that the only match that managed to stick was Luann and James? And would you watch another season of Housewives selecting from a bevy of men in a tropical locale? 4 | Watching The Last Supper get underway on , was anyone else distracted by the fact that the disciples' candles were (and remained) the exact same height and clearly weren't melting? 5 | The Pitt's Dr. Shen appears to 'run on Dunkin',' so we have to ask: What do you think his go-to order is? Is it just a classic iced coffee with cream and sugar? Or do we think he's more of a frozen coffee or iced latte-kinda guy? 6 | On Fox's , should shamelessly manipulative Kethryn's on-screen ID be changed from 'Tech Manager' to 'People Manager'? Also, could the gameplay on this show possibly be any more simplistic? 1) Compete in gross-out challenge to become Snake! 2) Scheme! 3) Vote someone out! 7 | Were you surprised by how easily 's Shayne chose his bro Biggy over his love interest Ally in that vase-shattering challenge? And was that big elimination twist a little underwhelming considering how easily Tai believed Biggy's lie right off the bat? 8 | Should the Ted Lasso writers be compensated every time the new Goldfish crackers commercial — featuring another familiar face from Saturday Night Live, Please Don't Destroy's Ben Marshall — airs on television? 9 | Are you officially 'shipping Adults' Anton and Paul Baker after that steamy kiss in the season finale? And how badly do we need to see a Season 2 to find out how this whole mess turns out? 10 | No shade to ' Nancy, but did you have a certain sense about Hamish's sexual preferences from literally the first moment he was on screen at the pool? 11 | Although it made complete sense, weren't you still a little disappointed with how little we got to see of Guy in The Buccaneers Season 2 premiere? And didn't Nelle and Nan look more like sisters than mother and daughter? 12 | Be honest, Nine Perfect Strangers viewers: How many of you were already suspecting that Helena twist might be a thing? 13 | On , were you definitely expecting something terrible to happen when Carrie drove off on an ATV unsupervised, and then shocked when she somehow arrived unscathed? And was Harry's elderly father surprisingly cool with it when Lily's dancer boyfriend announced he's poly? 14 | What was with Rebecca's sudden glam-up this week on Criminal Minds: Evolution? What was the point of giving Voit a new, better lawyer… if the guy didn't get to be? Also, how are the arachnophobics out there among you faring? Hit the comments with your answers and any TV Qs of your own! Best of TVLine 20+ Age-Defying Parent-Child Castings From Blue Bloods, ER, Ginny & Georgia, Golden Girls, Supernatural and More Young Sheldon Easter Eggs: Every Nod to The Big Bang Theory (and Every Future Reveal) Across 7 Seasons Weirdest TV Crossovers: Always Sunny Meets Abbott, Family Guy vs. Simpsons, Nine-Nine Recruits New Girl and More
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
🎥 Lifelong loyalty? This Chelsea fan couldn't care less
Staying forever loyal to the once chosen favorite team is considered a matter of honor for many fans. In the USA, the clocks seem to tick a little differently. A Chelsea supporter wanted to have nothing more to do with the Blues before their game against Flamengo at the Club World Cup. But it's also an irresistible persuasion work that the media team from Flamengo is doing. Advertisement "I don't know.." "Come on, you know which is the bigger team!" "Yeah okay" And just like that, the jersey is switched. The USA, the land of unlimited possibilities. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here. 📸 GLYN KIRK
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bulldog Charms Guests at Wedding, Joins Bride and Groom's First Dance (Exclusive)
Bruno Jham and Beth Dunfee incorporated their 3-year-old pet English bulldog, Pancake, into their wedding reception on May 31 "She's just such a central part of everything we do. I couldn't imagine such a big ceremony without her being present," the groom tells PEOPLE Pancake was "super excited" for all of the attention from guests, and to join her owners for their first danceA bride and groom's beloved bulldog adorably stole the attention at their wedding. Three years after Bruno Jham and Beth Dunfee started dating, they adopted their first and only pet together, an English bulldog named Pancake. When the couple decided to get married, they knew they couldn't do so without their fur baby by their side. So, they hosted their wedding reception at their home following their courthouse ceremony in Chicago on May 31. "Pancake is just such an important part of our lives," Jham tells PEOPLE. "She's just such a central part of everything we do. I couldn't imagine such a big ceremony without her being present." The 3-year-old dog — who has nearly 125,000 followers on TikTok and 100,000 followers on Instagram — loved all the attention at the wedding. She wiggled in excitement and even peed "sprinkles of joy" as she greeted guests while wearing a custom white dress with a large silver bow. "She was incredibly happy just to be around so many different people," Jham says. "Everybody gives her attention, and she just loves being around people. She's more of a human. She likes humans more than other dogs, I would say." Pancake was "super excited" to be around all the kids at the wedding. "There was a little girl who was just following her around all night, wouldn't leave her alone, so Pancake was really part of the party," Jham says. "She was just doing her thing, hanging out with other guests, and she was just feeling very comfortable with the whole thing." is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! Although Pancake would eventually ditch her party dress, she wasn't finished partying. When Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" began playing, she knew it was her time to shine, and joined her owners for a portion of their first dance. "Something old, something new and something with jowls," Jham captioned footage of the dance, which was shared on social media. "She was right next to us, so we were like, 'Let's have her be a part of it since she's so special to us,' " Jham remembers. When the music stopped, Pancake began barking. The bulldog, who is known as "The Baby Pancake" online, "wanted more." Afterward, Jham and Dunfee — who started dating in 2018 and got Pancake in 2021 — posed with Pancake as a caricaturist drew a portrait of them. They then took photos together in a photo booth. Jham teases that Pancake has a "duo personality." "She's super loving and sweet at one point, and then she gets super sassy and feisty at other times of the day," he says. "We joke that she likes to attack us. She's just [a] really fun and loving dog, and we are very happy to have her in our life." The wedding was "the highlight of her week." Spending time with so many people at once was admittedly "exhausting" for Pancake, who "slept for two days after the party." However, Jham points out that's not actually too different from her usual routine of "just sleeping all day." Read the original article on People
