A One Mann’s Movies review of “Barbie” (2023).
Wow, what an obvious shot-in-the-arm the much advertised “Barbenheimer” weekend is going to be for UK cinemas. As one of the cleaners was saying to his colleague when I was coming out of my screening, “I’ve never seen it so busy”. Wonderful! I’ve yet to see “Oppenheimer”. But as for “Barbie”, its a funny, vibrantly colourful jaunt but with some really clever storytelling.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Barbie (Margot Robbie) is living her best life in Barbieland, adored by the needy Ken (Ryan Gosling). But when a rift opens between the doll’s paradise and the real world, everything starts to go horribly wrong.
Certification:
UK: 12; US: PG-13. (From the BBFC web site: “Moderate innuendo, brief sexual harassment, implied strong language”.)
Talent:
Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Will Ferrell, Simu Liu, Emma Mackey, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman, Helen Mirren, Ariana Greenblatt.
Directed by: Greta Gerwig.
Written by: Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach.
Twitter Handle: #barbiethemovie
“Noone is going to beach anyone off”. Simu Liu, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling (Source: Warner Brothers).
“Barbie” Review:
Positives:
- Straight from the “2001” rip-off opening (it’s a shame they spoiled that in the trailer), the film delivers a lot of laughs. Barbieland is a riot of colour and sight gags, from the no-water shower and drinks to the fold-out plastic ambulance. (Man…. the pain I’ve had on so many past Christmas Eve nights, sticking 800 stickers onto those Barbie vehicles!) It more than surpasses the 6 laughs test for a comedy (and in the first 10 minutes).
- The whole movie is a glorious feminist rant…. but done in a wonderfully subtle way. Barbieland is a matriarchy where the whole of the supreme court is female, and all of the important jobs are done by women. The Kens (and “Ken’s Friend” Allan!) are there purely for decoration and exist only to be noticed by Barbie. When Barbie travels to the real world, she’s appalled at the realities of life, getting cat-called and degraded. Women don’t play a part here, especially in the male-dominated Mattel boardroom! (I assume Mattel signed off on this!) Conversely, Ken finds that “it’s good to be the king!”, resulting in a “Back to the Future II” type of reality shift in Barbieland.
- Against what Helen Mirren says at one point (Lol), Margot Robbie is immaculately cast as Barbie. But if anything, Ryan Gosling steals the show going 110% in for self-mockery as Ken, ‘beaching-off’ against Simu “Shang-Chi” Liu’s Ken. The dynamic between Robbie and Gosling is teriffic with its underlying confusion about love and sex.
Ken: I thought I might stay over tonight.
Barbie: Why?
Ken: Because we’re girlfriend and boyfriend.
Barbie: To do what?
[pause]
Ken: I’m actually not sure.
- America Ferrera (a long way from TV’s “Ugly Betty”) is splendid in the role of Gloria, getting to deliver a strident feminist monologue at one point that I’m sure would have made many women in the audience want to punch the air and shout “YES!” And I was also impressed (again!) by young Ariana Greenblatt, who is carving out for herself a pretty impressive CV of roles (she was one of the best things in the otherwise pretty awful, in my humble opinion, “65“).
- There are also a number of hilarious and surprising cameo appearances, including those for a Mer-Man Ken, ‘Sugar-Daddy Ken’ (which really existed in 2009!) and the pregnant ‘Midge’! (Others in the cast that I didn’t even notice on first watch are Lucy Boynton and Asim Choudrey.)
- Some of the songs and dance numbers are very entertaining. Might Ken’s “Ken” song get an Oscar nomination? You only hope so, such that Gosling, Liu and co can recreate their number on Oscar night!
Negatives:
- I’m not sure how I wanted this movie to end, but this wasn’t it. It felt like a bit of a damp squib.
- This might just be me, but Kate McKinnon, who plays ‘weird Barbie’ just plain annoys me with her acting style.
Monkeys?
FYI, there is no “monkey” at the end of the credits (though the first part of the credit scroll showing some of the unlikely Barbie collectibles over the years is entertaining).
Well, it would be a shame not to embrace the hype, wouldn’t it. The illustrious Mrs Movie Man commented “If I’d left him in his box for 41 years he would have been even more valuable!”… LOL
Summary Thoughts on “Barbie”
This looks like it will be the big summer hit the cinemas have been waiting for. It’s bright and clever and a crowd-pleaser. I suspect it won’t be seen as ‘substantial enough’ to get much of the awards attention (compared to “Oppenheimer”), but I’m sure it will pick up some Oscars in the technical awards.
Note that it’s really not a “kid’s film”. I attended with my two grandkids (nearly 9 and 6) and most of the satirical jokes – I think – went well over their heads.
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Trailer for “Barbie”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBk4NYhWNMM .
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