Barbie Review
As stated in my Oppenheimer review movies are back baby! My wife and I did a double feature to celebrate Barbenheimer Day. We say Oppenheimer in the morning. Took a break for lunch and to do some shopping, then return for an early evening showing of Barbie.
When we pulled back into the parking lot for Barbie the parking lot was completely full and we had to park in the next parking lot behind the theater parking lot.
I have not seen this theater that busy for any film. At least for an original film, yes, this is based on a brand, but it is not based on a comic book or a remake or sequel. The story is completely original.
Barbie has an existential crisis and has to travel to the real world to connect with the girl who is playing with her to fix what is wrong so Barbie can start having the perfect life again.
Greta Gerwig was the perfect person to bring Barbie to the big screen. Barbie has been a symbol of womanhood for decades in America, and it’s only in recent years that feminism has wrestled with what Barbie represents.
I’m sure there were opposers of everything Barbie stood for from the onset. But in this modern age Barbie’s claim that women can be anything comes off as shallow and though well-intentioned but misguided approach.
This is at the heart of Gerwig’s Barbie film. Not only that, but this is in relation to woman’s place in the world alongside men. It’s hard to get into why this film works so well without spoilers.
But what can be said is Gerwig’s self is poured into this film with certain monologues that sound like they came directly from her mind. You could hear them in Greta’s cadence.
Greta is one of our signature millennial directors working today, and she’s probably the only filmmaker that could’ve made this story work. There are plenty of other directions a Barbie film can go, but Greta found the sweet spot of metatextual, earnest, hilarious, and intelligent.
The third act has jokes inside that may go over under-25 viewers’ heads. Again jokes are hard to explain without spoilers, but let’s just say mansplaining becomes the butt of many well-executed jokes.
Margot Robbie was the only actress that could’ve played this role, at least in this iteration. Originally it was Amy Schumer before Gerwig got involved. This could work as Barbie is the “perfect” woman and women striving for perfection.
But as a case of an actress who could embody Barbie, Robbie nails it. Plus her co-star Ryan Gosling as one of the many Ken’s is superb. In a just world, they would both be nominated for Oscars.
I’m not sure of the Oscar potential of this film but if Gerwig’s script could get a nomination that would be a win, and the production design, especially for Barbieland.
Where the film does not work and thankfully takes a major backseat in the third act of the film is the Mattel Corporation having to chase Barbie. It feels like a must, but not organic, as if Gerwig had to make it work because it is a way to explain the relationship between Barbieland and the real world.
It’s messy and Will Farrell tries to take over for five minutes. It’s also a reminder that we are watching corporate propaganda being used to sell us goods, which doesn’t feel great.
But, thankfully Greta doesn’t use this device too much and in the third act, Farrell almost disappears completely. Overall it is a fun time at the movies.
4/5 Stars
Side note: with all of the memes of Barbie and Oppenheimer I never expected these films to cross over at all. But the theme of Self-actualization and what am I meant for in this world is a theme that interweaves through both films and I did not expect.
