Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling shine in Barbie, Greta Gerwig’s funny, clever, subversive, delightfully meta, and surprisingly thoughtful takedown of real-world patriarchy and gender inequality.
Overall Score: 10/10
Image: Warner Bros. Pictures
Before we start, a quick warning: If you still haven’t seen Barbie, know that the following review will contain spoilers for the film. Read on at your own risk.
Before it was released, what Barbie was really about and where it would end up on the quality spectrum was anyone’s guess. Interestingly, most of the details surrounding its plot had been kept under wraps. Furthermore, the mere idea that it was a collaboration between perfectly cast leads Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach (the respective writer-directors of Little Women and Marriage Story), and a supporting cast that includes the likes of legendary SNL alumni Will Ferrell and Kate McKinnon seemed utterly absurd.
And yet, here I am saying something I never thought I would get to say: Barbie is one of the absolute best films of the year and quite possibly the greatest feminist satire of all time.
Man, where to begin? I suppose it’s best to start with the performances. Though it may or may not surprise you, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling once again deliver some of their best work. Robbie — arguably the best and most logical choice to play Barbie — brilliantly navigates between being perfect, curious, determined, broken, lost, shocked, disillusioned, emotional, and so much more. In other words, she takes Barbie on this incredible journey of self-discovery and masterfully imbues her with several newfound human qualities. Meanwhile, Gosling is delightfully silly as Ken. He expertly balances goofiness, cluelessness, insecurity, and relatability, making his character someone you constantly feel like you can laugh at but also want to root for.
The supporting cast is fantastic too. All the different actresses and actors playing the various variants of Barbie and Ken are appropriately hammy throughout the film, and, as expected, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, and Michael Cera are all hilarious and fittingly weird. Heck, even the great Dame Helen Mirren gets to shine as the all-knowing and often funny narrator. But ultimately, the one cast member who truly stands out against their peers is none other than America Ferrera. In fact, in ways you probably least expect, she’s Barbie’s secret weapon.
In what may be one of the movie’s most crucial and memorable moments, Ferrera delivers a powerful and unforgettable monologue about the pressures and unrealistic expectations often placed upon women. "I'm just so tired of watching myself, and every single other woman, tie herself into knots so that people will like us.” Uttered by Ferrera with a burning passion and righteous anger, this single, moment-defining line perfectly captures the real-life paradox that is the fact of being a woman. Of course, as a young man, I could never fully understand the female experience, but through observing my mother, sister, and many friends, I at least know that it isn’t always easy. So kudos to Ferrera for giving her monologue the realism and emotional weight it deserves.
Moving on, the level and amount of craftwork that has gone into Barbie is absolutely mind-blowing. For instance, the beautiful production and set designs are — in the best way possible — wonderfully toyish and pink, and both do a fantastic job of translating the look and feel of Barbie’s world into live-action. The same can also be said for the film’s dazzling costumes, which perfectly complement each character that wears them.
Additionally, Barbie features a pretty sweet soundtrack that’s made up of a slew of catchy songs as well as some surprisingly meaningful ones. Instantly recognizable tracks include Lizzo’s “Pink,” Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World” (itself a remix of the famous song "Barbie Girl”), and Ryan Gosling’s memorable and gleefully ridiculous solo “I'm Just Ken.” However, the soundtrack’s true highlight has got to be Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” Amazingly, the song's lyrics perfectly parallel the film’s plot and Barbie’s own emotional arc, and Eilish’s ethereal voice lends itself perfectly to the melancholy feel it gives off. It’s a real musical achievement (and one that certainly has lots of meaning), and I personally wouldn’t mind if the seven-time Grammy winner were recognized for her work again.
But finally, let’s turn our attention to what I’ve really been dying to talk about: Barbie’s screenplay. If you went into this movie expecting a traditional and straightforward live-action adaptation, you’ll know by now that you couldn’t have been more wrong. Indeed, much, it seems, to everyone’s surprise, Barbie has turned out to be this year’s most subversive cinematic offering yet. Instead of being a feature-length film about Barbie and her day-to-day life in her perfect plastic world, from the get-go, writer-director Greta Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach establish that their take on the world’s most famous doll is a funny, clever, delightfully meta, and surprisingly thoughtful takedown of real-world patriarchy and gender inequality.
"Thanks to Barbie, all problems of feminism have been solved.” As soon as you hear the narrator say this, you immediately know it isn’t true. Sure, women’s rights may have come a long way, and yes, Mattel may have produced a few groundbreaking and game-changing Barbie dolls over the years, but in no way does that mean that humanity has entered an era in which everyone receives equal societal representation. Quite the contrary, realistically (and as much as I hate to admit it), much of the world still exists under some form of patriarchy.
Gerwig and Baumbach understand this too, and thus they keep the “real world” exactly how it is. And in order to effectively make their points, they present Barbie’s world, Barbieland, as the complete opposite: a matriarchal society. And through the eventual takeover (by the Kens) and reclaiming (by the Barbies) of this fictional place, they find a way to creatively and cleverly dismantle real-world male dominance and gender norms.
The Barbies, you see, go from having full control over their world to being relegated to second-rate jobs, while the Kens move up from their status as mere pretty boys to near-authoritarian dictators. However, before long, the Barbies stage a retaliation — a move that allows them to flip their population’s power dynamics in their favor one final time. By doing this, Gerwig and Baumbach effectively reject the notion that women should be put in a box and told what to do. And instead, they push for men to be shown that women are just as capable of being in charge of their own lives and running society.
But, as I mentioned before, Barbie also serves as a satirical comedy, meaning that in addition to making a bunch of criticisms, it also pokes fun at how things work in the real world. For instance, at one point, one male character asks, “I'm a man with no power. Does that make me a woman?” And at another point, after their defeat, we hear the narrator say of the Kens that they’ll eventually have or gain “as much power as women have in the real world.” On the surface, these may seem to be no more than throwaway comedic lines, but, in fact, both are examples of Gerwig and Baumbach’s cleverly disguised, witty, and sometimes even scathing social commentary.
And yet, the wonders of Barbie’s screenplay don’t just end there as it also deals with existentialism, the human need for purpose, self-love, self-worth, and many other deep and meaningful themes. But perhaps what’s most surprising is the fact that the film also acts as a critiquing and rebranding of Barbie. Regardless of their creator’s original intentions, the Barbie dolls have been criticized for promoting unrealistic and harmful beauty standards among young girls. Recognizing this issue, Gerwig and Baumbach have Barbie confronted with it head-on, unapologetically tearing her down before building her back up into something new and better: A proud and powerful feminist icon who embraces and stands for the better treatment of all women. Now if that’s not a total reinvention of an iconic brand, then I don’t know what is.
And that brings me to the end of my review. If you haven’t guessed so already, I LOVE Barbie. It lived up to my expectations by being fun, funny, and satisfyingly silly, and it also exceeded them by being philosophical, meaningful, and satirical. However, I have to admit that this film won’t be for everyone. If you’re a feminist (or support gender equality in general), you’ll undoubtedly have a blast. But if you’re not (or worse, a misogynist), there’s a chance that you’ll either have mixed feelings or an altogether negative response. But regardless, Barbie is undoubtedly one of the best movies of 2023. And while it remains to be seen just how well it’ll do at the Oscars, one thing’s for sure: An entertaining, relevant, honest, and reflective film like this is exactly what the world of today needs.
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