Barbie Review
Theatrical Movie Review - Comedy
I grew up with two sisters and a bunch of Barbie dolls. If we weren’t out riding our bikes around the neighborhood, we were playing with our Barbies, probably arguing over who got the Barbie with the cool bendable legs and who got the Barbie with the melted hair from a hairdryer accident. Since it was announced that Greta Gerwig was directing “Barbie,” I have been looking forward to this movie.
Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) live in BarbieLand with all of the other Barbies and Kens. Every day is perfect, until one day Barbie starts experiencing intrusive thoughts and flat feet. To try to get her perfect life back, Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) instructs Barbie to head to the Real World to try to connect with her owner to try to fix what’s wrong. While Barbie tracks down Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) and her mother Gloria (America Ferrera), Ken discovers that the real world is different from BarbieLand in ways that intrigue him. Can Barbie save both BarbieLand and the Real World?
This has probably been my most anticipated movie of the year, so I admit, I assumed that I would be disappointed by it, but I have to tell you, I was not. I had an absolutely fantastic time at this movie in just about every way.
Gerwig along with her partner Noah Baumbach wrote the script for this and while at times it is a bit on the nose, I found the whole of it refreshing. I felt like it did a good job of analyzing both the positives and negatives surrounding the Barbie brand. Even though it’s not particularly ground-breaking, America Ferrera’s speech in the third act made me cry, simply to hear it said in a big blockbuster kind of movie. The script is funny and touching and unapologetically feminist.
The performances were all excellent. Gosling fully goes for it with his portrayal of Ken. The many Kens and Barbies (and others like Allan and Midge) all do a standout job. But, I have to give all of the props to Robbie as Barbie. Her character goes through a journey and Robbie does an astounding job of sharing that with us.
The set design is spectacular. BarbieLand is exactly how I would imagine everything when I was a little girl playing with my dolls. I loved every second we spent in that world.
I will say that while this isn’t inappropriate for kids, it’s not a kids movie. I think young viewers would love BarbieLand, but I think they might get bored through other sections. But for older audiences who remember playing Barbies, this will likely hit really well.
Ruth Handler, the inventor of Barbie, wanted this toy to help girls know what they could become, more than what they should become. That message has often been blunted by how society often treats women. Despite seeming like a modern take on the iconic doll, “Barbie” brings her back to her roots. I think Ruth would be proud.
This post originally appeared in The Dominion Post on July 23, 2023.