Barbie

Released: July 2023

Director: Greta Gerwig

Rated: PG-13

Run Time: 114 Minutes

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Genre: Comedy

Cast:
Margot Robbie: Barbie
Ryan Gosling: Ken
Issa Rae: Barbie
Simu Liu: Ken
Kate Mckinnon: Barbie
Alexandra Shipp: Barbie
Kingsley Ben-Adir: Ken
America Ferrera: Gloria
Ariana Greenblatt: Sasha
Will Ferrell: Mattel CEO

If you told me 5 years ago that not only would I see a movie about Barbie, I would watch it on its opening weekend and I would enjoy the hell out of it, I would’ve had you thrown into the sea.  Well…it’s 5 years later, the Barbie movie is here, and it’s the opening weekend for the film.  You know what?  I went to see it this morning and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Look, I’m a guy, so I grew up playing with Transformers, He-Man, and G.I. Joe.  So, Barbie was clearly not on my radar as a kid.  Each of those other toy lines that I mentioned got movies made of them, so it was very strange that Barbie never got a movie of her own.  She’s got a movie of her own, and it’s great.

All is well in Barbieland.  Barbie wakes up perfect as usual with daily life in Barbieland never changing and always happy.  However, one night, Barbie decides to ask everybody about death, and ever since then, things start changing.  Her fake food is burned, her showers are cold, and she’s got flat feet.  It’s a crisis.  So, she goes to see Weird Barbie to figure out what’s going on.  It seems she’s aware that she’s a toy, but she thinks everything in the real world is perfect, so she has to go the Real World to find answers.  Well, the Real World is not what she thought it was…oh, and Ken is along for the ride, too.  I was not expecting this movie to have a story that’s as smart, deep, funny, and moving as it is.  It’s absolutely about the female experience, and as a guy, I don’t fully understand some of the issues that are at play.  The movie is clearly self-aware about what it is and what it represents.  It embraces the concept of Barbie, but it also makes fun of it at the same time, while deconstructing the ideas that brought the toy line into existence.  It’s a lot smarter than I thought it was going to be.  It definitely hammers home the messages that it’s trying to convey.  This movie’s going to piss people off.  And by people, I mean those pathetic little incelulites that are ridiculously insecure about themselves.  You know, like Ben Shapiro.  Yeah, I’m not the target audience, but I walked away with a smile on my face.

This movie is beautifully made.  There’s a LOT of pink, but you really should know that going into a movie about a girl’s doll.  I have to admit, Barbieland is stunning.  Yeah, it’s clearly plasticy, but it’s incredibly crafted.  The details are on point.  Even the transition from Barbieland to the Real World is amazing.  It’s simple and not overly CGI’d to hell and back.  The costume designs are out of this world.  Even if you’re not familiar with the toy line at all, I’m pretty sure you’d recognize some of the Barbies.  The acting is great.  I swear, Margot Robbie was genetically engineered for this role.  Not only does she look like Barbie, she inhabits the role, even when the character is going through some things.  Her Stereotypical Barbie is the emotional core of the film.  Ryan Gosling as Ken?  Perfect casting, that.  He steals the show whenever he’s on screen.  But his chemistry with Robbie’s character can’t be outmatched, even with the likes of Simu Liu who plays another Ken.  Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie is one of the highlights.  Kate’s always been really good at playing quirky characters.  I loved her in the 2016 Ghostbusters remake.  Will Ferrell doesn’t get a whole of screen time as Mattel’s Ceo, and there are times when the movie seems to forget that he exists.  Just as well, I’m not a huge fan of Ferrell.

The writing in Barbie is SHARP.  The jokes come quickly and hit hard, especially when it comes to the idea of patriarchy.  Yeah, some insecure men are going to bristle at that, but it’s also incredibly true.  In a movie about a girl’s doll, strong character development was really unexpected, especially with Margot Robbie’s character.  The way she goes from being the typical Barbie to one having an existencial crisis and then to one who is finally coming to grips with the Real World and how it actually works.  Even America Ferrera’s Gloria gets some meaningful moments.  Also, this movie has some pretty good musical numbers.  It’s not a musical, but it’s got some moments right out of one, and they are AMAZING, especially when Ryan Gosling’s involved.  He’s an incredibly talented actor, so he does all of his singing and dancing.

As someone who really enjoyed the Transformers and G.I. Joe movies, they kinda pale in comparison to Barbie.  Barbie was smart enough to not take itself seriously, while promoting really strong feminist ideas that could benefit EVERYBODY.  It’s funny, it’s goofy, it’s colorful, and it’s spectacular.  But it’s also very endearing in a lot of ways.  It doesn’t just make fun of the whole Barbie idea, it embraces the idea of what Barbie could be in the future.  The doll hasn’t really been relevant in a long time, but I think this film could help people and Mattel approach the toy line in a different way.  I will say this, though.  This movie really isn’t a kid’s movie.  I think kids will have a good time with it, but there are ideas in this movie that will go over their heads.  For average film-goer, though, this is a delightful movie.  Yeah, I loved it.  I’m not ashamed to say it.  It’s a really good movie.