Barbie

Barbie review

Written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach

Directed by Greta Gerwig

Rating: most excellent

Come on, Barbie! Let’s go have an existential crisis.

What comes to mind when you think of Barbie? Pretty blonde girls? Being a kid and playing with your toys for a living? Cutting their hair? For me, it’s a memory of being a young girl and playing with my Barbie dolls carefree. I loved everything about Barbie – from the life-sized doll to the jeep and oh, so many outfits. I was a Barbie girl. I would look at her and wonder how I could grow up to be that beautiful. There were times I was jealous of Barbie. I’d always hear people say to my blonde friends, “look how cute she is, what a Barbie!”, to which I would think, why not me? 

I was confused by Barbie and Ken. Their anatomy lacked the average body parts which made my mind run wild. A child’s mind is impressionable at a young age and I think I was trying to understand the basics of what genitals and sexuality were. All my dolls were naked and piled on top of each other all the time. It wasn’t normal. In fact, one day my friend found my naked Barbies in my closet and went back to school and told everybody. I stopped playing with them after that. It took me until I was older to be able to look back and understand the impact a toy can have on a child’s life. 

As children, most are encouraged to use their imagination to create a world of infinite possibilities. Many lose their child-like spark as they grow older, but some of us know our imagination is what helps us keep going. You can use your imagination to create the world of magic you wish to live in, right? Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is a magical journey about losing yourself and finding ways to become who you’re meant to be. The film is a reminder of how gender roles have differed throughout time, the obstacles women have had to adhere to overcome, and the impact toxic masculinity has not just on men, but on society. 

Greta Gerwig does a phenomenal job of creating a screenplay which shines light on the toxicities of the Barbie doll regarding body image, sexualization, and the challenges of being a woman in a man’s world. I love Gerwig’s style of writing. It is cynical and witty which makes it feel light at times, but overall covers many heavy topics. I cried as much as I laughed throughout the film because it felt relatable. 

I think a major problem for our generation is this disconnect between what we truly want in life and what we’re willing to settle for. Thoughts of darkness masked through humor is an easy (and hilarious) coping mechanism. Barbie embraces just that. She’s not willing to settle for what is. Robbie embodies Barbie with such depth and emotion. She has this beautiful sparkle in her eye that makes the world fall in love with every character she plays - Barbie included. 

Barbie’s world is turned upside down once she breaks a portal between Barbieland and reality where her true creator lives. Once she starts malfunctioning, she chooses to go on an adventure into the real world to find the young girl who plays with her and help fix her problems. Ken cannot fathom being without Barbie and sneaks his way on her trip. They quickly begin learning about things like money, harassment, and Ken’s newfound favorite - the patriarchy. Challenges cause them to part ways which gives Ken space to go on an adventure of his own. He starts to become obsessed with learning about the patriarchy and begins to despise Barbie for suppressing his rights as a man. Ken quickly heads back to Barbieland to let the other Kens know what is going on. The Ken scenes are all pretty ridiculous at times. Gosling is hilarious. His musical numbers are random, but I deeply appreciated the stupidity of them. Robbie and Gosling’s performances are average compared to their past films, but are both made for their roles. I don’t feel like they were breaking any barriers with their acting for these characters, yet it is the impact these characters can have on others which makes up for that difference. America Ferrera’s character has a few special moments which impact the tone of the film and is what makes this film as important as it is. Her scenes hit a little too close for comfort.

The movie shows examples of sexual favoritism towards women, catcalling, and sexual assault. These moments are overlooked with elements of humor, but are blatantly there. The fact that Robbie effortlessly makes these moments funny helps the audience feel how incredible of an actress she is. Gerwig does an outstanding job creating roles in her scripts for this manner. From Little Women to my favorite, Lady Bird - we see roles about women standing up for themselves and fighting for their worth. I think the importance of seeing situations on screen through strong writing and acting helps men realize how overlooked these problems are for women. Her style of writing is refreshing and much appreciated.

The music, vibrant color scheme, and cinematography makes Barbie such an enjoyable experience. I left the theaters sobbing for a while, but overall reflect on what an entertaining ride this entire film has been. The outstanding marketing from Mattel - which will be taught in Public Relations and Advertising courses in the future - is something the world will remember for years. 

People are starting to go back to movie theaters again. Generations of families have something to bond over through this film. No matter what your thoughts on Barbie are, I think we can all agree - it was time the world had something playful to enjoy. Barbie is a reminder of how important and unique you are. Barbie and Ken are within each of us. It’s at the core of your inner child where your true Barbie or Ken will come out. Listen to it. Embrace it. And go watch the Barbie movie again. 

Review by Tanya Djavadzadeh