Barbie

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Barbie follows the titular character as she struggles with her own status quo becoming disrupted after the girl who plays with her also begins to change. This is such an incredible film about femininity, whether that be reclaiming it or redefining it by redefining how we look at and understand the Barbie doll. The main Barbie we follow in this film is 'stereotypical' Barbie, who gets to enjoy Barbieland as this sort of utopia where Barbies run everything and there is an element of safety because everything is pretend. Yet she starts noticing changes to how she thinks, looks and interacts with the world around her; the way she is being played with and viewed has changed which in turn means she has to go to the real world. What both Ken and Barbie gain from the real world is so fascinating and very well captured. Barbie gains an understanding that things aren't like Barbieland here. Men are in charge, they're inappropriate to women and there's a massive divide in expectations for men vs. women. Barbie also has to come to understand that while Barbie promotes being a 'perfect' woman there's a real challenge of doing that in a world where that's impossible to reach - being a woman in the real world is actually more difficult than the idea Barbie promotes. Ken learning about patriarchy and men having power is a funny yet dangerous storyline that mirrors our world in a way that is clearer and more impactful thematically. Watching the Barbies uniting, and working together to take Barbieland back from this more thinly-constructed take on patriarchy is wonderful and also a pretty important story to tell. This film is constantly witty and tells jokes in a way that pivots from serious wit to straight up camp. Barbie's final scene before returning to the real world is a very real and raw emotional moment between choosing the ease of being an idea of femininity and the more complex experience of living as a woman in our world. I could never have expected something so entirely off the wall, sincere, sidesplittingly funny and important as Barbie turned out to be.

Greta Gerwig's visual style throughout the film is inspired, marking Barbieland as such a unique experience to behold. The shots are always playing with focus and contained framing to really give us a full sense of this world that is more pretend and play. The way this filming sharpens up in the real world with some quite reflective visuals is a nice touch. The special effects never feel overstated, it's clear there's a lot of practical in this film and the CGI work comes in to really enhance the camp elements. This film might not be my top pick of the year but it edges out every film above it when it comes to the soundtrack. The exuberant pop aesthetic is all over the place, whether it's Charli XCX or Dua Lipa the film thrives on these anthem-like songs. I also loved the scenes in which Ryan Gosling and the other Kens gets to perform their music, whether it's the powerful 'I'm Just Ken' number or the hilarious but cringeworthy 'Push' cover I was in absolute awe.

 

Ariana Greenblatt, who played Sasha, is a really versatile up and coming young performer; Greenblatt's rebellious streak in this and watching that side chip away around her mother is well performed. Ryan Gosling, who played Ken, really does his very best to steal the show throughout the feature; in Gosling's hands Ken can be goofy and ridiculous but also really melancholy and insecure in ways that just pivot in the same scene they're being portrayed. Emma Mackey, Hari Nef and Alexandra Shipp, who each played Barbie, were some of the ensemble Barbie's who really made good use of their screen time; Mackey gets to play up the empowered feel of her Barbie nicely while Nef is very good at playing high energy and Shipp is morbidly funny as one of the 'brainwashed Barbies'. Will Ferrell, who played the Mattel CEO, manages to pass off some of the more out of pocket jokes in a very light and flippant way that works; I enjoy that Ferrell's frantic energy seems constantly weirdly placed but that he sincerely seems quite like an ally figure in this film. Helen Mirren, who voiced the Narrator, couldn't be a better pick for our guiding voice throughout the feature; Mirren can be both serene and reflective while also quipping with some biting wit. Simu Liu, who played Ken, has such a carefree and capable physical presence in the film; though not dialogue intensive he and Gosling work very well on building a great rivalry. Michael Cera, who played Alan, is quite an unexpected and goofy role that brings some of the best comedy to the screen; Cera's scene in which Alan attempts to breakout is completely wild and works so well at that point in the feature. Kate McKinnon, who played Barbie, doesn't go too far in terms of range but is perfectly capable of dishing some great comedic lines and exposition; McKinnon gets to toy with what a 'weird' Barbie would be like and leans into that nicely. America Ferrera, who played Gloria, was very nearly my pick for best performance because she's just that good; her monologue for what it's like being a woman in the real world had people clapping in my screening. Issa Rae, who played Barbie, is very charismatic as the President figure of the Barbies; I loved watching Rae get to be both stern and comedic when facing the Mattel CEO in her last scene. Rhea Perlman, who played Ruth Handler, is one of the more fascinating performances in this piece; Perlman gives something so gentle yet otherworldly and wise that really adds an extra layer of mysticism to the piece.

However, the best performance came from Margot Robbie, who played Barbie. The best performance was really quite tough to pick this time around but when Robbie takes a passion project you really feel it in what she brings to the table. I love how whimsical and light-hearted this role is when first we meet her, she's effortlessly carefree and cool which you'd expect from a Barbie portrayal. But then watching as Robbie really gets a bit of room to show her character panic and get quite scared about her changing self and what it means for Barbieland really hooks the audience in. Barbie is such a great character to see interact with the real world, her bursts of optimism or moments of genuine truth make her incredibly endearing. She also has this great bond with Perlman that marks their scenes together as some of the best in the feature. I loved how Robbie brings her character to a place where she loses faith in herself and being Barbie for a time yet through the strength of the other women around her she rises up stronger than before. I think Robbie evolves this character beautifully; the Barbie at the start of the film couldn't reflect on her needs, the state of Barbieland and Ken's identity in the way end of film Barbie does. Margot Robbie leads this film with equal shares of dramatic and comedic presence and it's a performance that will really stand the test of time on her filmography.

I like when this film shrugs and says the way from Barbieland to the real world just sorta happens, that's a nice fun gag that skips past exposition. Unfortunately, the film isn't consistent about this and there are moments where scenes stray too long on trying to explain the more fantastical elements going on in this feature which muddies the waters a bit. The film also has a strange tendency of just dropping storylines and side characters in ways that make the film a little less realised than it could otherwise have been. I think a bit more definition around Gloria, Sasha, Alan and the Mattel CEO would have enriched those characters and storylines more. This film is consistently very funny but it doesn't always place all of its jokes very well, the second to last scene of the feature was very powerful to watch and is followed by an insanely funny joke that takes a lot of power out of the previous scene. Just balancing the tone in this instance would have driven things home nicer.

Kingsley Ben-Adir, John Cena, Scott Evans and Ncuti Gatwa, who each played Ken, all very much felt like background performers in this feature and never had the comedic chops to stand out as more than an ensemble; Ben-Adir in particular just felt underutilised as the Ken that was best friends with Gosling's Ken. Nicola Coughlan, Dua Lipa and Ritu Arya, who each played Barbie, are some of the ensemble Barbies that really don't get great screen time or have very good presence in the film; Dua Lipa in particular feels a little less even-footed as her acting ability isn't her strength.

This movie has EVERYTHING, and Ken. So cool. I would give Barbie an 8.5/10.