Movie Review: Barbie
Rating: 3 Stars
I imagine it to be a difficult task to sit down with an empty canvas and have someone with a sack full of cash say, “Hey let’s make a movie about Barbie and oh it’s going to have the involvement of Mattel who created the world-famous toy doll.”
The live-action Barbie movie was conceptually formulated in 2009… what a different tone it would’ve taken on then! There must’ve been a whole host of ideas as the film was bounced around from Universal to Sony and finally to Warner Brothers. Eventually, the film fell into the hands of director/writer and actress Greta Gerwig (and her co-writer collaborator Noah Baumbach).
Considering the source material and the mental hoops and loops that Gerwig’s script achieves, I’d wager this is the best version of a Barbie film that can form a coherent compelling narrative while entertaining the masses.
Barbie is a self-referential satirical social commentary that is forced to balance comedic vibrant energy with an introspective look at feminism, patriarchy, and the intersection where marketing girls’ dolls fit over several decades time.
Helen Mirren as the narrator establishes the basic rules so that there are no questions as to any multiverses or timelines (thanks MCU!). There is Barbie World and there is the real world. According to Will Ferrell who represents the CEO of Mattel, Barbie World is basically a hidden town in Sweden that actually isn’t much of an arduous journey to get to. But Barbie World is perfect, and there’s no real desire for the Barbies to leave their lavish life of luxury…
That is until the “stereotypical” Barbie played by a vivacious Margot Robbie discovers that she has developed a minor case of cellulite. Uh oh.
The first act establishes the expectations going forward. Expect healthy dose of musical numbers, momentary but shrewd fourth wall breaks, throwaway lines that you don’t have enough time to linger on, and uncanny dialogue sequences that probably make more sense on paper than in casual conversation.
Uncanny is frankly a great way to describe much of the Barbie movie. Ryan Gosling as Ken is the most unsettling character I’ve watched since Private Pyle had his fifteen minutes of fame in Full Metal Jacket. Alright, that’s heavily exaggerated, but Gosling’s Ken looks like Ryan Gosling was stuck in a body suit made to look like Ryan Gosling as a Fortnite character with bleached hair.
Barbie undertakes a mission to save herself from the not-so-silent impending thoughts of death in her head by traveling to the real world to discover where her mental transformation is originating from. Ken tags along but is sidetracked when he learns how well the male patriarchy is working in the real world and decides why not take that knowledge back to Barbie land.
Barbie land becomes Ken-land or Ken-dom and Barbie’s confidence is shattered when she learns that the real world never accepted Barbie as the feminist icon her brand supposedly built. With an all-male executive team who have their nose on the pulse of making money, isn’t Barbie right where she’s supposed to be?
That’s the one question the Barbie failed to answer for me. Will Ferrell is in a fascinatingly similar role as he was in the Lego Movie. Remember President Business? The struggle for the Barbie movie is that it has much more complicated social components to navigate that can’t be summarized in throwaway lines or musical numbers. A too-serious Barbie movie starts to feel less like a Barbie movie and more like a lecture.
America Ferrara’s monologue is probably what will stick with me as the film’s seminal moment. It’s a turning point to the final stanza but the film loses steam from here to the end. The final act becomes anti-climactic in retrospect.
Kate McKinnon cast as “weird” Barbie might’ve been the easiest home run in the history of cinema. Considering her range extends to impersonating Rudy Giuliani, weird Barbie was a stroll in the park.
There’s not a ton to say about Margot Robbie that you wouldn’t expect if you’ve seen her previous works. She’s dove into roles in Scorcese and Tarantino films along with a couple stabs at Harley Quinn. Barbie will undoubtedly be an iconic role for Robbie. A role I could easily see her reprising.
All-in-all Gerwig’s direction is a job well done. It’s no easy feat to make Barbie a humorous fantasy adventure flick. I might’ve pined for cruder humor but to what expense does the messaging lose meaning in a cruder film?
The rousing success of Barbie leads me to wonder who has eyes on a sequel. Barbie’s cousin The Lego Movie had a spinoff and a sequel so I fathom this won’t be the last we see of Barbie and Ken this decade.
