Watched July 19, 2023
“Barbie” is a film that surprised me but in a very good way! “Barbie” truly finds the balance of being a laugh out loud comedy, while also being a real and genuine social commentary. This film can handle the different tonal shifts throughout very well and becomes more layered and emotionally complex as you get deeper into the movie. This movie may not be for everyone, but I believe the message that this film is trying to get the audience to understand is one that everyone should hear.
This film is from acclaimed director Greta Gerwig, who also has directed films such as "Lady Bird" and "Little Women". The premise of the story is that Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) are living their best lives, but something happens where they must travel into the real world, and they discover the joys but also the trials and tribulations of humanity. Barbie is really struggling with the fact that women are not equal in the real world, and she finds out that humans, especially modern-day young girls, have a different idea of what Barbie means to them. Throughout this film we get great comedic performances from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Their chemistry together is some of the best parts of the movie. These are both roles they were meant to play in my opinion. There are jokes that are just perfectly delivered and so relevant both to the story but also just society as a whole.
The social commentary piece was not something that I was expecting from the “Barbie” movie. But it is perfectly executed. This film tackles ideas such as gender roles, feminism, and self-worth. Each of which is done to perfection. Gerwig takes this Barbie movie and deeply examines the brand and what Barbie means to society. It tackles whether the dolls truly represent a woman or set an unachievable ideal for what a woman should be. There is a monologue in here from America Ferrera that is just so memorable and so genuine that my whole theater erupted in applause after it. This film’s dissection of gender expectations and self-exploration are so powerful and feel so real to things that are discussed in society. And it’s not only the self-exploration of Barbie that is shown in this movie but also the self-exploration of Ken. This film is one that I believe will be inspirational for young women but also for women as a whole. Writers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach came up with a story that is much more thoughtful than I expected but is so real and provides a great social commentary for everyone.
I would like to talk a little bit about the performances in this movie. We will first start with Margot Robbie’s Barbie. She is perfectly cast in this role, and I believe delivers a performance of her career. Barbie is everything I would expect from seeing the doll. She is funny, charming but is also trying to find her place in the world. Robbie displays such an incredible range of emotion in this film. She is hilarious, honest, but also a very heartfelt character. Once Barbie goes into the real world, she finds that women are not treated the same as they are in Barbieland and that really bothers her. Once that happens, we dive even further into the character of Barbie and a dissection of the doll overall which is very profound. But the highlight of the movie for me is Ryan Gosling’s Ken. For me, he steals the show and delivers some of the best comedic moments in the movie. Ryan Gosling, like Margot Robbie, was made to play this role and he absolutely delivers. There is Oscar buzz going around right now for him to get a Supporting Actor nomination and I would support that nomination 100%! There are also some other great supporting performances such as America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera and Will Ferrell just to name a few. There are a lot of different variations of Barbie in this movie, because Barbie can be whatever she wants to be. Unfortunately, some of these characters are never really fleshed out due to the runtime. I just wish we got a little more development from some of these characters.
Moving on from performances, I must talk a little bit about the movie from a technical aspect. The production and set design in this movie is truly remarkable and you truly feel like you could live in Barbieland. It feels like a real place that people could live in and I for one would 100% travel to Barbieland! The cinematography and costumes are also well done and help to add to the experience of this Barbie movie. Credit to the whole behind the camera talent who really did a great job bringing this toy to life. I really hope that this movie picks up some technical nominations later this awards season.
Overall, “Barbie” really surprised me! It’s the funniest movie of the year so far for me. But on the flip side, we see Gerwig explore gender roles, feminism, and self-exploration in a very profound way. Greta Gerwig beautifully crafts this story and I really cannot wait to rewatch this movie! Definitely a highlight of the year so far!
Review: 4/5 Stars
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