Director: Greta Gerwig
Writers: Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach
Cast: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Ariana Greenblatt, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Sharon Rooney, Ana Cruz Kayne, Ritu Arya, Dua Lipa, Nicola Coughlan, Emerald Fennell, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, John Cena, Connor Swindells, Rhea Pearlman, Will Ferrell, Helen Mirren, Michael Cera

This feels like THE live-action movie the world has been waiting for since the iconic Barbie doll launched on March 9^th 1959 (making her exactly thirty years and one day older than me, by the by…). There have been many animated movies and some appearances in Disney’s Toy Story movies, but finally the doll that most little girls covet has made her big-screen live-action debut. With all those fans worldwide, the anticipation has been high and the expectations even higher. So, has Barbie finally learned to walk on her own two-tippy-toed-feet, or should she have remained in her box, forever a collectable, never to be played with?

Barbie (Margot Robbie) lives in Barbieland, surrounded by many other iterations of herself, all named Barbie, but assigned different roles and careers. Everyone has their place, and everyone is happy. Ken (Gosling), Barbie’s infatuated boyfriend, lives his life adoring Barbie but not having his feelings truly reciprocated and never really being his own Ken. Joined by numerous other Kens, he goes about his days at the beach and generally just being blonde, tan and muscular. One day, Barbie wakes up and begins having an existential crisis, and suddenly her entire world is turned upside down when she starts to become “less than perfect”. In order to put things right again, she must travel to the “real world” and figure out who is making her feel this way. Ken insists on coming along for the ride, and both Barbie and Ken end up getting more than they bargained for on their big adventure from and to Barbieland.

If you go into this movie thinking it’s just going to be for girls that takes Barbie on a fun little road trip to fix some things, you’d be in for a mighty shock. While the film is certainly female-heavy and does indeed follow the standard three-act structure of an adventure story, it is interwoven with issues that women have been facing since the dawn of time and addresses them head-fucking-on. Gerwig was very much not afraid to let her voice represent those of almost all women when writing this film, and she puts many angles on Barbie that the doll has always strived for in reality, the main one being the fight for equality. It has a strong feminist stance (in the best and most non-toxic way) but at the same time it doesn’t dismiss the men; when the roles are reversed, that’s not something you can often say in Hollywood movies. A lot of stereotypes are played out, but not just for the sake of it: Gerwig goes beyond the stereotypes and pulls out exactly where they grew from and how we, and certainly Barbie within the movie, can grow from them. Sure, Barbie the doll has had her fair share of backlash since she was created, something that is made abundantly clear in the movie, but the transparency of addressing that and not merely sweeping it under the rug is part of what makes this movie so much more than one might think considering the stereotypes that come with Barbie.

Production-wise, you might see this movie and think you’ve gone colourblind. No, you haven’t, it’s just A LOT of pink. But what else would be expected from a Barbie movie? It creates a nice contrast though, when Barbie gets to the real world, which is a little duller and drabber with only a pop of colour here and there (not including the colourful Barbie herself). The Barbieland sets are crazy good, with Dreamhouses galore and so many recognisable locations, vehicles and accessories. Part of it has some real Stepford Wives vibes, but not to the extent of being weird or out of place. The soundtrack is damn good, and Ken’s own musical number complete with choreography is tremendous fun, if a little bit out of place within the movie.

Despite the movie’s narrator, played by Mirren, declaring at one point that (to paraphrase) if Barbie thinks she’s not pretty then Margot Robbie was the wrong person to cast, Robbie was in fact the perfect casting for Barbie. Not only does she physically fit the profile, but Robbie gives off an aura of being a “girl’s girl”, in that she supports women, is down to earth and is generally a nice, friendly person (if testimonies from non-celebrities are to be believed, though she definitely comes across this way in interviews). She is a good representative not just for Barbie but for women in general. She also turns in a wonderful performance, balancing the good, the bad and the downright ugly new experiences Barbie faces. She emotes well for a character based on an emotionless plastic doll, bringing plenty of great humour as well as fear and pathos. Gosling, rather surprisingly for some, is a fantastic Ken, sometimes even being a scene-stealer from Robbie. He takes the role with such a huge pinch of salt that he’s able to play the character to a degree of fun that doesn’t just leave him a laughingstock, but also with a nice depth that he has talked about playing the character with. Ken is fun, funny and pitiful at times, but just like Barbie, he’s only trying to figure himself out too, although he does rather get too swept up in the patriarchy of the real world. Ferrera plays a real-world character named Gloria, a character that is integral to Barbie’s goal and who is the true representative of all the women watching this movie, as well as a representative of Gerwig’s words. She has a particular monologue that really strikes home and makes us feel seen and empowered, a monologue that makes it even more important for men to see this movie. Ferrera’s Gloria is all women, and we are all Gloria. There are too many excellent supporting performances to fit into this review, but I will sum it up by saying that supporting is the operative word: all the actresses and actors are supported by each other wonderfully and it comes across onscreen as a true ensemble effort (also, it’s a bit of fun for fans of the TV show Sex Education to see three of its main actors together in this movie, being Mackey, Gatwa and Swindells, not to mention Gatwa being set to be the next Doctor in Doctor Who… anyway, I digress).

Barbie had me thinking little of it until about thirty-minutes in. It starts off like any other movie, but then the pace and themes really pick up and it really gets into a groove that it never loses for the rest of the film. It’s also very meta at times and is very aware of itself, which is a framing that Gerwig would have had to use for the movie so it didn’t end up coming across as a joke and/or taking itself too seriously. It deals with incredibly important issues (I also want to say “modern” issues, but the issues dealt with go back hundreds, if not thousands of years in our history), but it’s also fun. It’s great entertainment and balances that well with thought-provoking themes and ideas. I liked that it made me feel validated in thoughts and feelings I’ve had and also not alone in the constant existential crises that come with navigating the present and the future, especially as a woman. Although a live-action Barbie movie has been in the works for many years, in my opinion, she has arrived at exactly the right time, just as the doll did in 1959.

Now… anyone for Oppenheimer?

(Side-note: I’m very envious of those who got the full Barbenheimer experience when both Barbie and Oppenheimer, two polar opposite movies, opened on the same day. Unfortunately, I have another two weeks to wait for it to be released where I live, but perhaps I’ll still opt for a double feature and revisit Barbieland again before delving in to the near-end of the world. Also, be aware: I’m sure Oppenheimer will give some an existential crisis, but believe me, so will Barbie. I’m not kidding.)