I get that this review is probably a bit defunct at this point, what with the majority of the western world having already seen Barbie. Many people have seen Barbie twice, thrice, multiple times. To be fair, it deserves the praise and box office sales that it has achieved. When I saw the movie on opening day, there were queues of little girls, older women, women of various shapes, sizes, religion, race and sexuality… all dressed in pink. Hell, there were a bunch of fuchsia-tinted men in the crowd too. It was actually really lovely to see, and even if you’re not a fan, you have to admit that this movie’s release meant a lot to a lot of people.
No one knew what to expect when Greta Gerwig announced she’d be directing a movie about Barbie. What we got was a brief history of the Mattel phenomenon, some fun and games, and then a whopping great commentary on feminism and and the patriarchy. Basically, it’s exactly what I was hoping for. To put the plot together simply, we join all of the different Barbies in Barbie Land, when suddenly our lead (Margot Robbie) learns of the real world and embarks on an adventure to see what it’s like there.
Yes, I did it. I completed Barbenheimer Day. Like so many others, I saw Oppenheimer first, and I was so sure that was the right thing to do. After Nolan‘s pièce de résistance however, I kind of wished I did it the other way round. Oppenheimer was just so deeply disturbing and harrowing, so when it came round to Barbie, I was still in a state of shock, feeling as if I couldn’t enjoy the latter to the fullest. But I’ll try to put that all to one side for the purpose of this post.
Barbie is not a perfect movie, just like how Barbie (the character) isn’t perfect. But enjoyability-wise? This could not be more fun. Sure, the plot was pretty thin overall, but its meta, comedic, character-centred nature was a delight. Greta Gerwig might just have just simultaneously poked fun at feminism whilst also helping its cause.
As a piece of directorial showmanship, Barbie is absolutely fabulous to look at and to listen to. Those hot pink, true-to-Mattel Dream House sets are so impressive and the costuming is exactly what you want from a movie about the world’s most famous doll. The soundtrack is filled with joyous bangers and hilarious original songs, not to mention the fact that the Indigo Girls‘ Closer to Fine features heavily, meaning it merits bonus points from me.
With a cast filled with so much pure talent, including some of the most well known up-and-comers in film and TV right now, it’s pretty hard to stand out. Of course Margot Robbie is perfect casting – we all knew she would be – but the ones who stood out most were easily Rhea Perlman, Issa Rae and (maybe most surprisingly to me) Kate McKinnon. All three of them bring their unique charm and charisma to a sea of actors in which they could have been lost in, and that’s no easy task.
Honestly, I could have done with less focus on Ken, despite Ryan Gosling being pretty good, and overall it’s probably not actually a five star film. But you know what? I don’t care. I had a blast. And in terms of enjoyability? It’s worthy of full marks.
Barbie is currently screening in the majority of cinemas in the UK.
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