Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is finally here and it is fun, funny, and deep, but aggressively weird is the best way.
Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.
The setting feels like a Barbie world comes to life and captures the energy of the doll in all its glory. There are plenty of accessories and a plastic feeling, and a toy-like atmosphere with real-life people is brilliantly captured and fun. The real world is alright and gets the job done as a secondary location for the actors, but it’s the Barbie Dreamland that excels in the feeling of Mattel coming to life.
The plot may be a bit familiar and predictable, but there is a lot of originality to it as well. There is definitely more to it than you would expect – Barbie’s plot is one part comedy, one part discovery, and one part political philosophy that sort of gives you a variety. It is definitely out there, but kudos for trying to be different and more advanced than many other story attempts.
The acting was outstanding in this movie. Kate McKinnon may not have been used as much as I would have liked, but I loved her for the way her weirdness works for weird Barbie. McKinnon was quirky, fun, and a little bold, but the SNL line delivery really worked. Ryan Gosling was brilliant in his role as Ken. Gosling was clumsy, funny, hardcore silly and it worked for the ridiculous nature and tone of the film. Margot Robbie continues to knock the ball out of the park and fits the role so perfectly. Robbie’s sparkly and quirky, but has a range that she just brings.
The Music by far was one of the best things about this film and tells so much and brings so much to the film. The songs from the radio and the past and other song musical numbers worked well. The dance numbers were full of pop vibes and later a true stage show musical that had the theatrics and jazz of a stage show.
The message of this film is very deep, and to be perfectly honest, I did enjoy this part of Gerwig’s writing. It’s deep and had character development and really drives home a lot of social commentary and trends under the microscope about human qualities.
Overall, Barbie was really fun to watch, and was also a bit surprised by the unexpected things it had to offer and along with the clever writing. The fun timing of some well-written lines had me rolling with laughter. The acting was brilliant, the sets were spectacular, and loved how the music added energy and storytelling to it. However, the detour of fun for very political-heavy writing was probably my least favorite part. The story elements and character usage felt a bit jumbled, scrambled, and shallow, and had too many character moments to really show off Gerwig’s clever writing. Despite all of that, Barbie is still a fun, entertaining, theater-worthy film that I will happily watch again.
Barbie is now playing in theaters.
What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comments below
