Barbie
Disclaimer:
The movie I’m reviewing this week is rated PG-13, but spiritually rated: PG.
I don’t know why it’s rated PG-13, however I’m still obligated to inform you of its rating.
I figured that it was only a matter of time before this movie, or its counterpart Oppenheimer, was suggested to me. Not to say that it’s a bad thing, if anything it’s quite the opposite. Since this did happen to be another of those films that I’d already heard a lot of positive remarks about amongst people I knew - family, friends, coworkers, etc. - so I had high hopes going into this movie. Sure enough, those expectations were mostly met once I watched it the first time. Yeah, while I did like this movie I can’t say that I liked everything about it. There were a few moments here and there that kinda rubbed me the wrong way, but overall it was a fun experience.
Forgive me for the short intro, I’m just getting my mojo back after a one week hiatus, but if there’s anything I’ve learned from this movie it’s that I should embrace my weaknesses and sell them as a relatable depressed doll so I can massively profit in the end. At least I think that was the point of the movie.
Anyway, let’s hike up our skirts, strap on our heels, and get rid of our cellulite by taking a look at Barbie!
Anyway, we start this movie with a 2001: A Space Odyssey reference. Interesting choice. While this may seem like a weird way to open, I think it helps cement the quirky humor that the movie has throughout its runtime. The good news is that the movie also doesn’t rely on references as its primary form of humor, which is also what makes me think that this is what the point of the scene was. It also provides us with an easy segue into the history of Barbie (the doll) and how she came to be a mainstay in the lives of generations of girls. Helen Mirren also does a pretty good job as the narrator who gives us this backstory balancing history channel voice over with jokes sprinkled in to spice things up. Although, she has about as much presence as Clopin from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She doesn’t show up in the movie very much beyond the opening and the ending outside of maybe one or two jokes in the middle. One of those jokes was totally worth it though.
But what the movie wants is to focus on the dynamic between Barbie and Ken (played by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling), which we are then introduced to in what is supposedly an average day in Barbie Land. In fact, one of the best visuals in the movie is just the spectacle of Barbie Land. The set-pieces are really cool and completely sell the concept of this reality. They’re also just the perfect blend of creative and clearly fake.
We follow Barbie amongst the other Barbies (including yet also not including Ken) throughout the day where we learn more about Barbie and Ken’s relationship and are subjected to a real foot-tapping soundtrack. Not gonna lie, the songs in this movie are bangers. Everything seems perfect leading up to a dance party at Barbie’s house later that night where she suddenly gets an intrusive thought about death. This is what starts us down the rabbit hole that the movie will focus on until the credits.
From here on, Barbie’s life starts to go downhill prompting her to seek advice from ‘Weird Barbie’ (played by Kate McKinnon) who tells her that she’s opened up a portal to the real world which is affecting her life in Barbie Land. The girl that’s playing with Barbie in the real world is clearly upset so Barbie needs to go to the real world and cheer her up so things can go back to normal. The logic of this movie can be a little hard to follow ocassionally, especially when it comes to the method that’s used to travel from Barbie Land to the real world and vice versa, but I think that’s part of the joke. It can be complicated or hard to follow but the point is you’re never supposed to take it too seriously. At least when it comes to the specifics of how the world works. We’ll get to the heavier parts of this movie later.
With this new knowledge in tow, and with some urging from Weird Barbie, Barbie sets out on her adventure. Ken’s also there. They find out together how different the real world is from Barbie Land and while Barbie has a hard time adjusting, Ken takes it especially well. Upon noticing the completely reversed roles of men and women between Barbie Land and the real world, Ken feels so much more empowered, enlightened, and appreciated. I’d also like to take this time to mention how much this movie makes you relate to Ken. Even though he kinda becomes the film’s antagonist, you completely identify with what he’s doing and how what he’s doing seems justified by how Barbie treats him all the time. And it all started with trucks and horses.
Patented Skye Sidenote: While I can’t say for sure if it was the movie’s primary focus to create an allegory for sex and gender with Barbie and Ken, I can say for sure that it is there. Not only that, but I notice in everyday life, since Barbie (the doll) has become such a notable and iconic staple of American girls’ childhoods, we even occasionally refer to men and women as Ken and Barbie. The movie is clearly aware of this and uses it to entertain the audience with a fun romp through a quirky fictional setting while also making its own statement on inequality regarding sex and gender at the same time. We see this with how the Barbies are in control of Barbie Land (of course you could infer that just from the name) and the Kens are pushed aside and forgotten much like how in the real world men have long been in charge of most things while women struggle to be heard. This also makes perfect sense for Barbie (the doll) because ever since her debut, she’s been the one most people have cared about even after the introduction of Ken in reality, and much like Mattel’s CEO in the movie (played by Will Ferrell) says “We aren’t worried about Ken…ever.”
Eventually Barbie tracks down who she thinks is the girl that’s playing with her named Sasha (played by Ariana Greenblatt) at her High School where she promptly gets torn to shreds by Sasha’s harsh criticisms. Sasha is pretty well acted and I can say that practically all of the points she brings up about how Barbie is weakening the push for feminism I agree with as well (which I’m curious if that was another reason this movie was made: to take back the fight for feminism), although her and her mother Gloria (played by America Ferrera) don’t get as much focus as I would’ve liked. They do have moments here and there that show their relationship working itself out through the process of being taken to a magical land of dolls, but besides that they seem more like afterthoughts. Just characters that’re there to help be the catalysts for change that Barbie needs to figure out her purpose and bring balance to Barbie Land. In the end it’s clear though that the movie wants its main focus to be on Barbie and Ken (especially since they’re the only two characters that appear in most of the marketing), so I suppose I can’t fault the movie too much for having a focus and a message.
Although, funnily enough, prancing around Los Angeles in Lil’ Nas X’s Old Town Road drag collection claiming to be the Barbie gets peoples’ attention, so Mattel finds her and takes her back to their headquarters to try to put her back in a box and get her out of their hair. If I’m being honest this scene feels pretty pointless to me. The movie builds up the idea that Mattel could end up being this big antagonist trying to thwart Barbie at every turn, but in the end you could really just write them out and not miss anything except a Will Ferrell performance. One thing we do get out of Mattel’s appearance is the introduction of Ruth (played by Rhea Perlman) who we later learn is the ghost of Ruth Handler, first CEO of Mattel and creator of Barbie (the doll), during a chase scene where Barbie (the character) is trying to escape Mattel executives.
Another thing that comes across in the movie is just how much homework the writers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach put into this project. They have several different archival Barbie products in this film from discontinued dolls, malfunctioning crapping dogs, sleek pink vehicles, and old flashy outfits, so the inclusion of Barbie(the doll)’s real world creator makes total sense. Not just from a historical perspective, but also from a storytelling one considering the arc that Barbie (the character) goes through during the film about finding herself and discovering who she is. Outside of that though, I just think the side story with the Mattel executives wasn’t even needed in the first place. Kind of like with the discovery of Sasha and Gloria, the movie could’ve had Barbie be drawn to Mattel headquarters because it’s a familiar place to her so she can still have an opportunity to meet Ruth instead of being taken there by executives who then try to catch her throughout the movie which ends up amounting to nothing. Since they also had a joke advertisement play in the movie about a cripplingly depressed Barbie(doll) after Barbie(character) loses all hope, they could’ve done the same thing with Ken’s Mojo Dojo Casa House. It would’ve helped keep the movie a bit more focused while still showing how Barbie Land and the real world are interconnected.
Since Mattel failed to catch their most popular doll, Barbie makes it back to Barbie Land with the help of Sasha and Gloria only to find it in complete disarray since Ken and the rest of the Kens have now taken over. Each Barbie that was in charge before is now brainwashed to be a smiling trophy by every Ken’s side handing him brewsky beers whenever he wants. I want to be mad at this, but at the same time I just really like Ken and feel good that he finally managed to give himself a voice. In the end though yes, it is very bad and uncomfortably similar to reality. Barbie also realizes this, but instead of doing something she decides to give up. What a role model. Sasha agrees with me since this prompts her and Gloria to pack up and leave, but uh-oh, there’s an Allan in the backseat! Allan (played by Michael Cera) tells Sasha and Gloria about his plan to leave Kendom before it gets sealed away from the real world forever by the almighty power of brick walls. Trump would be proud. It’s here that Sasha has a somewhat sporadic change of heart and she convinces her mom and Allan to go back to Kendom to save it. I’m still not entirely sure what prompts her to make this decision, it’s a bit unclear, but this movie needs a final act so let’s just go with it.
At Weird Barbie’s Weird House we find what’s left of the Barbie resistance, including existential crisis Barbie that we left behind earlier, and Gloria makes a big feminist speech about how difficult it is to be a woman in the real world. This is definitely where the movie goes back to the feminist arguments that were established earlier by Sasha, which also clues the audience in that this is likely where Sasha got it from, and I especially like how it uses this less as a non-subtle real world statement (though believe me, that’s definitely what it is) and instead to help connect with Barbie on a personal level. It’s in this scene that we realize that dolls are more similar to humans than anyone could’ve thought, even just as symbols representing typical human existence, and also that by explaining all this in the presence of brainwashed Barbies it snaps them out of their stupor. This is both very funny and also makes a lot of sense.
What to do now? Break out all of the brainwashed Barbies and try to reclaim Barbie Land! So with a complicated heist planned out (I know it’s an overused trope, but for me, in-depth plans and heists are just fun to watch play out) they set out to turn the Kens against each other to distract them from voting to overturn Barbie Land’s constitution and forever making it Kendom which is already pretty silly. The Kens also have a big fight with each other using sports equipment which is equally silly and they sing what’s probably my favorite song in the movie: I’m Just Ken. It’s a really fun number, well sung, danceable, and enjoyable to watch. Until they remember, “Oh right, it’s voting day!” But, too late Kens. The Barbies already voted and Barbie Land will remain Barbie Land. Womp-womp.
Everyone’s favorite Ken then storms off into the remains of his Mojo Dojo Casa House where he breaks down and MC (main character) Barbie goes to comfort him. It’s here that the relationship between the two is fully addressed and even Barbie realizes just how much she’s mistreated Ken all this time. He’s completely listless and doesn’t even know who he is. Without his bros and without his best girl Barbie, who is he? It’s always been Barbie and Ken. There’s never been just Ken. Heck, even in the mugshots they got from their first arrest earlier in the movie, the name board Ken holds also says ‘and Ken’, not just ‘Ken’. Does he even exist without Barbie? As you may have guessed I really like this moment as it makes you think a lot about how you viewed the movie up until now yourself. Personally, any movie that can get me to do that gets an extra point. Barbie apologizes to him and reminds him what it means to be yourself. Maybe it’s Barbie and it’s Ken. After thinking about it for a bit, Ken starts to believe it which makes him feel better in the end. Also we’re treated to this shot:
This hoodie has less than a minute of screentime, but it’s still one of the best things in the film.
But wait, Ken got his happy ending, what about Barbie then? What’s her ending? This is when Ruth reappears, it’s officially revealed who she is, and she takes Barbie off to the end of the movie. After all this time trying to go back to being stereotypical Barbie, Barbie is starting to feel like she isn’t Barbie anymore. She’s spent so much time in the real world and more or less experienced what it means to be human. With Ruth’s help, Barbie decides she wants to become human after this long journey. We’re then shown a series of clips from everyday human life to cement Barbie’s transition to personhood over the Billie Eilish song What Was I Made For. Every time I see this scene, I think a lot about what I’m doing with my life and what my purpose is as well which really speaks to the power of this scene.
Once that’s done, we cut back to Los Angeles as Sasha, Gloria, and Gloria’s husband (played by Ryan Piers Williams (don’t worry, he’s not in this long)) are sitting in a car with Barbie as she goes off to some kind of appointment. We then end on the worst joke of the movie where we find out Barbie is getting her first gynecologist appointment. This joke really doesn’t work for me since we see Barbie wearing some pretty professional clothes which made me think at first that she was going to a job interview, but instead the movie wanted to focus on the fact that she actually has a vagina now which is just awkward. Not only that, but since this was so close to that emotional scene of Barbie becoming human in the first place, I feel like it could’ve been thought out much better. Either they could’ve done a softer joke that doesn’t make you feel dirty or just lean into the human empowerment angle and actually have her at a job interview or something. Make her happy to experience something that’s quintessential to human life and not just ha-ha, private parts.
But that aside, I did like this movie quite a bit.
While by no means perfect, I do still have a few problems with it, I think as a whole it works well. Allowing us to have fun with the absurdity of living dolls interacting with humans while also leaving time for addressing real world issues and emotions is genuinely difficult to do, so I have to give the film props for that. Of course this is also not a movie every viewer would enjoy, but I’m sure that for those who would feel most inclined to seek out this movie they would be perfectly satisfied with what they find. If you haven’t seen it, take a look and see for yourself if this is the right kind of movie for you, and by all means post your thoughts in the comments for everyone to read and discuss. If you couldn’t tell by now, I love discussing movies, so you’d be in good company.
For my obligatory rating per each movie I review (minus one) I think I’ll rate this one 4/5 Gothenburgs. If you don’t get it watch the movie and then Google it, I promise it’s funny and makes sense. Totally.
Thanks to commenter SeamuraiLorelai for suggesting this movie!
(I make no claim of ownership for any of the images used in this post)
(Each of them are owned entirely by their respective copyright holders which are not me)
(I am just a humble blogger who talks about movies, I do not make them)
(Yet)
