Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
But, now having finally watched the crazy box office and cultural smashing success, I can say that my doubts were unfounded.
Barbie is a very good movie. There, now everyone can get off my back!
“Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence.”
Director: Greta Gerwig
Writers: Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig
Staring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Emma Mackey, Alexandra Shipp, Dua Lipa, Issa Rae, Simu Liu, John Cena
Release Date: July 21, 2023
IMDB
Yes, I finally saw Barbie (2023).
When it came down to picking sides in July, I was firmly pitched in the Oppenheimer (2023) camp. If we are being honest, I was scared that I would not like Barbie. I tend not to find much enjoyment from movies that punch you in the face with their message. I was scared that Barbie was going to be more of a societal commentary than an actual movie. I was scared that there wouldn’t be any room for personal interpretation. I need a bit of gray area in order to spur thought.
But, now having finally watched the crazy box office and cultural smashing success, I can say that my doubts were unfounded.
Barbie is a very good movie. There, now everyone can get off my back!
Barbie is a great comedy that more-often-than-not lands its punchlines effectively. Newly married Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach pen a script that cuts stereotypes down to size using levity and bright pink colors. The characters Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) traverse two different worlds in this expedited Allegory Of The Cave tale tacked with culture and gender commentary. Seeing the different worlds and alternative social perspectives leads to crises of self worth for Barbie and Ken, resulting in a story that teaches self acceptance with clever and comedic wit.
Wow, that paragraph reads as remarkably hoity-toity. Let’s simplify things.
Stereotypical Barbie is living an idyllic life in Barbieland thinking that she and all her fellow Barbies and setting the perfect example for young girls in the real world. Our main character’s perception of things changes when all of a sudden she starts losing her quintessential Barbie qualities. Barbie is getting cellulite and thinking about death! Stereotypical Barbie visits Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) and learns that she must travel to the real world and find the human girl who is playing with Barbie and discover why she is unhappy.
Barbie is not alone on her venture to the real world. Ken, who is obsessed with Barbie and can only be made happy when she notices him, has tagged along. Together they traverse in an Elf (2003) like way to the unkind pavements of Los Angeles. Amongst the hub-bub and non-neon colors, Barbie learns that her sense of what society thinks of her is very different than she expected. Ken also learns a few things, like how the patriarchy can be a great thing to instill confidence and self worth in men!
Barbie makes sure to bring in multiple different generations into the story, including the likes of high school rebel Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) and her mother Gloria (America Ferrera). Everyone has different thoughts regarding what Barbie means to them and society as a whole, but if women can unite against anything together, it’s the idea of men in control with no desire to change.
Barbie brings Sasha and Gloria back to Barbieland only to find that Ken has brought back all the male stereotypes from the real world and made Barbieland into a patriarchy. In fact, all of the men in Barbieland are going to sign a new constitution that would make these destructive changes permanent. All of the other Barbies in Barbieland have been brainwashed into thinking that serving beer is the meaning of life, so it’s up to Stereotypical Barbie, Weird Barbie, Sasha and Gloria to devise a plan that will restore Barbieland back to its matriarchal state.
While this battle between men and women and their ideal thoughts on society is waging, there is a third component to the story that can’t be ignored. The toy company Mattel has a large stake in Barbie’s existence in the real world. They can not risk having her roaming around unchecked, so the CEO (Will Ferrell) orders his subordinates to bring her in. After one failed kidnapping attempt, these suit-wearing yes-men follow Barbie back into Barbieland and eventually play a part in the movie’s kumbaya climax.
In quick summation; in the original iteration of Barbieland, Ken is nothing more than an accessory to Barbie but the Barbies don’t realize this. After a trip to the real world, Ken brings back with him some patriarchy lessons, resulting in the fantasy world’s society being upheaved. Barbie, along with her new real world friends, must develop a plan to get things back to the way they were, and in the process, everyone learns lessons on how to treat one another better.
Now that I have over-explained the plot of Barbie, let’s get into the more fun aspects of the movie.
This is Margot Robbie’s movie. Society as a whole may have taken a huge liking to Ryan Gosling as Ken, and there is no denying he is good, but Robbie’s performance is outstanding. The two-time Oscar nominee has a great sense of self, knowing when to ham it up for the irony and when to bring some grounded realism. Much of Barbie is outrageous so a hint of extremism is good in the performance. Robbie delivers, and will probably get some award consideration for her performance.
Ryan Gosling is almost for sure going to be nominated for a third time in his career. Gosling has to play dumb and learns from manly montages of horses, John Travolta and Rocky what it is like to be a man. Gosling has the fun part of Barbie because he has the least expected of him from a character standpoint. The character of Ken only has room to go up, and you know his actions, even when malicious, are not intentionally so. He is a very easy character to root for. Gosling also benefits from the fact that he gets some outrageous over-the-top moments. The Just Ken song is perhaps the most memorable part of the entire movie, and that is Gosling just being the charismatic man is born to play.
We have mentioned only good things thus far, so let’s mix it up with some negativity.
There are two moments in Barbie where the movie punches the audience in the face with loud outrageous speeches about gender and societal problems. We have the young Sasha who berates Barbie upon meeting her for instilling unrealistic expectations about women. Then her mother Gloria gives a speech to a depressed Barbie about what it is like to be a woman, galvanizing our blonde bombshell hero to save Barbieland.
Barbie makes it a point to show how different generations and sexes react to the standards of society illustrated by stereotypical Barbie and Ken. It is a supremely smart concept by Gerwig and Bauchman to put into the movie, but the ways in which each of the generations spout their problems is cringe. At least to myself. Those speeches would have perhaps been ideal for viewers who have no sense of societal trends or awareness. Strictly from a subjective standpoint, I’d have preferred a more subtle way of addressing these generational differences and similarities. Just have a little bit of faith in the audience to interpret things rather than spelling it out.
Now I pose a question to you. Did we need Will Ferrell as Mattel CEO character and plot line? I understand the need to poke fun at the idea of a man leading a toy company pushing Barbie purely for women and not for profits. The sequence in the boardroom when Barbie is asked to be put in the box, well that is another example of something being a bit too on the nose. Will Ferrell provided some great comedy and a second Stanley Kubrick homage with the boardroom aesthetic was a nice touch, but the Mattel part of the story is the most forgettable.
Alright, let’s get back to some of the positive attributes. I did enjoy Barbie quite a bit, and a lot of my affection comes from the smart comedy weaved throughout.
Absolutely love the Matrix moments weaved into the movie. When Barbie is leaving the Mattel board room she begins running through a maze of cubicles just like Neo did in 1999 when Morpheus was communicating with him. After the white collar setting chase we see Barbie get into a hallway filled with doorways, which is seen in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), and low and behold, Barbie meets a woman filled with wisdom and guile. An oracle if you will, who helps her understand by telling her just what she needs to hear.
The Matrix is perhaps the best duel world, Allegory of the Cave-esq, tale over the last 25 years. Was a huge surprise to see it referenced so visually.
There is no easy way to Segway from The Matrix to Michael Cera and Kate McKinnon, but here we go. Michael Cera is so good at playing a weird eccentric man. His bits as Allan are great and the quick one-liners he delivers to remind the audience he still exists are always chuckle inducing. The other actor who fit perfectly into her role is the SNL alum Kate McKinnon. I mean this in the best way possible, but McKinnon doesn’t even look like she’s acting. That character is how I picture McKinnon in all her roles, only this time she has green hair.
Also, I related to the toy that got played with so much it got destroyed. I absolutely ruined countless Star Wars and Lord of the Rings action figures. I would use white out to signify blood on the toys. It would create a mess.
The funniest, longest lasting comedic bit from Barbie is the use of John Travolta and Grease (1978). Arguably the funniest part in Barbie is when Ken first enters Los Angeles and sees a montage of manliness while discovering the Patriarchy. We see horses, money, golf, boxing, and Grease fucking Lightening. What an outstanding add-on that paid off HUGE dividends come the end of the movie. The sequence at the end with all the Ken’s dancing along and understanding one another was a direct callback to Grease Lightning, and Ken is Danny Zuko. Simply outstanding. Greta Gerwig, this was a stroke of genius.
And if you want to interrogate the sewing in of Grease into Barbie further, one could easily point out how the ending of the late 1970s musical had Sandy (Oliva Newton-John) changing herself completely in order to please Danny. She had to dress up differently and make a statement by stomping a cigarette on the ground and telling her man to shape up. You can then pull on strings and see how the women of society were changing for what they think men wanted, that being the shape of stereotypical Barbie.
This is the type of smart comedy that I love. Clever, under the surface, but with superficial value that you can appreciate without thinking too deep. Layers. LAYERS!
So Barbie was good. I liked Barbie. I don’t think it is the best movie of 2023, but it is easy to see why it’s so widely accepted and watchable. Nobody is picked on too much, and there are moments of clever comedy interwoven with some dumb interjections. The movie BRIGHT, and I mean that in a literal sense. Picture the opposite of Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022) and you have the color palette for Barbie.
Barbie led all Golden Globe nominated films with nine nominations. While the GOlden Globes aren’t nearly as prestigious as they once were, it can act as a precursor for the Academy Awards. There are three original songs nominated for the Golden Globes, so don’t be too surprised if at least two have their name called at the 96th Academy Awards. Personally, I can also see it getting nominated for Best Production Design, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup And Hairstyling. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling will be in attendance as well, most likely both nominated too. Barbie has the chance to be the billion dollar box office success that finds award success as well. Society will be happier for it, however, I reserve judgment to be upset if it sweeps like Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) last year.
Barbie is streaming on MAX.
STANKO RATING: B+
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