Barbie Review: In the Barbie World
Greta Gerwig displays creative prowess when adapting a brand into a modern cinema icon with hilarity and heart.
“An honest review” claims the bias letterboxd user, who gave a .5 star rating due to the “⅗ cinematography” and “⅕ politics.” The opening assessment by this aspiring critic should tell you much of what Barbie is about, as if a film helmed by Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie would not be a powerful declaration against the patriarchy. While some viewers see the film’s politics as distracting, or clearly for some, an abhorrent poison to the glamorous world dotted by dream houses and drenched in every shade of pink, purple, and pastels, the thematic messaging of Gerwig’s Barbie is, in actuality, one of the film’s greatest strengths. Bringing together humor, self-reflexivity, stellar production design and all time performances from actors never afraid to ham it up in the name of gender equality, Barbie is a pure delight from beginning to end. However, that same strong, impassioned thematic assertion introduces the film’s more muddied components. How strong of a feminist message can Barbie the film provide when Barbie the doll has become as much of a symbol of the patriarchy as feminism? Will the themes developed with wit in a sharply funny script be enough to pry the film outside the grasp of hegemonic frameworks of “safe” feminism? With an estimated one hundred million dollar revenue for Mattel coming from the film through a new resurgence of Barbie branded products and ticket sales, it is difficult to parse just how much Barbie’s themes ring full of heart, or are hollowed out by performative activism. Regardless, one thing is for certain, I enjoyed my stay in Barbie Land and would gladly visit again.
However, that doesn’t mean my trip was as smooth as the plastic sheen the world is crafted with. In fact, my touchdown into the opening minutes had me immediately concerned. That same plasticity left me feeling that the cinematography was flat, and the world fake. Never a shadow in sight, little depth within frame, and some shots feeling as empty as a Barbie box ripped opened by a child receiving their first birthday gift, Barbieland certainly feels like a toy palace in its opening minutes…but that doesn’t make it pretty to look at. Introducing Barbie’s world with a voice over narration, comical self-reflexive song and tons of glitz and glam immerses the audience with the subtlety of a jackhammer. Right off the bat, Barbie moves at an eccentric pace, jokes flung at the viewer with the same speed narrative beats are swept by. While seemingly necessary for a movie with literal pieces of plastic as the main cast, the impressive development of both the film’s themes and characters show that shallowness is not necessary for a film based on toys. Yet, the movie begins with Barbie prancing and dancing around, encountering existential feelings of death, flat feet, and cellulite before venturing to the real world to figure out why she feels so…real, in a matter of minutes. Entertaining? Certainly. Jarring? Even more so. However, with Ken by her side, the comedy is able to cover up the confused pacing until the film comfortably lands on its (flat) feet once the dolls turn to life, and luckily, the cinematography only improves from here (save for a chevy commercial halfway through).
Barbie Land is pure magical whimsy, brought to life by stellar production design and vision by the talented crew. The real world has its own fantastical qualities in this iteration of our reality, one that is still notably dominated by the patriarchy while having snowy mountains visible from the high rises of L.A. It’s surreal, and fitting for the aforementioned self-reflexive tone of the film. While some clearly find the lack of subtlety grading, Gerwig and Baumbach still sprinkle the script with heart and moments of deep reflection for both the lead and audience members, proving that Barbie is far more than one note jokes. In fact, very few jokes are as shallow as the pro-male viewer’s reviews, as is the same with the screenplay as a whole. It is impossible to deny the impressive creativity required to not only reimagine Barbie as a film protagonist, but to do so with such style, flare, and timely resonance. Barbie taps into our current moment while still being relatable for past generations with its themes, and entertaining for younger viewers for the jokes and visual cacophony of beauty and glitter that is Barbie Land. It is truly impressive how nearly anyone can enjoy this film based on its sheer likeability. Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie deliver performances they were seemingly born to play with infectious energy, the film’s set pieces had me nearly bursting into song, and again, it’s difficult to remember the last time I laughed out loud in theater as much as I did throughout this runtime. However, it is that same mass appeal that leads one to wonder: how strong can Barbie’s defanged feminism be?
When Barbie enters the real world in hopes of finding her “player” (an abstract term for someone who plays with a doll that comes to life, I’m working on a better definition), she finds Sasha, a member of Gen-z who confronts the Barbie that thought gender inequality was solved thanks to her boundary breaking past with the harsh reality: she’s a fascist (Sasha’s own words, not mine). The take down is brutal, and again, comically shallow. It again fits the self-reflexive tone, but also points at the film’s themes being equally so. As Ken discovers a world where men rule instead of drool over Barbie’s who refuse to acknowledge their existence, he turns into the very critic that opened this review. Returning to Barbie Land with the intention of turning it into the new “Kendom,” the film continues to demonstrate its creative genius and pin point accuracy to our current political and social climate by adapting pro-male heretics into Ken’s who perform masculinity due to a lack of identity or purpose beyond their desired partners. At the same time, Barbie must confront the duality of being a woman in the patriarchy, and how she must adapt to understand and confront the increasingly complicated social web we live in. I enjoyed this narrative direction more than I thought, as going in I was still confused as to how exactly Gerwig and company could make a full length film out of a brand. While seemingly succeeding with flying pastel colors based on the strong thematic development and consistently entertaining story and humor, the question still remains: is Barbie subject to its own plasticity when being funded by the very company made to look like lovable buffoons in Will Ferral’s Mattel CEO? The same company that, once again, could benefit from an “activist” appearance with a history of deploying feminism as a means of profit? The question only becomes more complicated when learning that Mattel refuses to call the film “feminist” in the first place.
As the goofiness and heart ramp up in the film’s final act, the return of side characters like the Mattel CEO reminds audiences that there are, in fact, side characters and subplots to this movie, which is forgivable if forgotten, as it seems like they escape the film’s mind as well. The pacing issues and lack of development for certain characters reads more like writing error than purposeful playing into the film’s tongue and cheek tone, and as Barbie confronts her oppressors turned activists and re-enters the real world, the film’s plastic sheen becomes applicable to its themes as well. The rampant production of Barbie merchandise has been profitable for the newly feminist Mattel, making it seem as though Barbie the film is as much of a means of profit as the doll for its rebranding of Barbie as feminist. However, that does not mean the cast and crew behind and in front of the camera don’t believe in the message they’re trying to convey. That is the beauty of hegemonic ideological analysis; yes, Barbie is undoubtedly a good look for Mattel as a brand and a massive cash cow for its feminism that fits into the hegemonic mold. There are POC barbie’s, but none of them are the main character. In fact, the pregnant Barbie is continually mocked throughout the film for her appearance. Once again, the Mattel crew is presented as, at worst, simpletons who don’t know any better rather than profiteers off the feminism they perform, a grandparent of past generations that simply doesn’t know better rather than capitalist entities, all the while pushing out “Kenough” hoodies that even I am tempted to buy. But that demonstrates this film’s strength: despite the inherent effacement of some of the film’s powerful messaging based on its real world contexts, I still believed in what it was trying to say, just as much as the rest of my theater did. This dissent may be defanged, but that certainly doesn’t stop the right crowd from being angered at the film for being “too political.” If that doesn’t demonstrate the film’s thematic successes, then I’m not sure what does.
Meaning, Barbie, for all of its pacing woes and corporate tendrils rooting themselves into this dreamworld, remains entertaining, emotionally engaging, and powerful throughout its runtime. And despite what some may say, this is not a film only for Barbie lovers, this is not an “anti-male” film only entertaining to the women in the crowd, but a widely applicable, impressively relevant critique on the patriarchy that is far deeper than one could think a piece of plastic could ever be.