I walk into the cinema- one that is painted with the barbie signature pink(#e94196)- all excited and feets tingling. Growing up I was not always eager for things , but one thing I loved more than anything was this mini laptop-looking video player, where I would play all of my Barbie CDs. Now that I am older my love for the female icon has only quadrupled, it makes sense why I spent months preparing the perfect outfit for this historical movie. Somehow, I managed to persuade my brother
into accompanying me to the movie, Because on the contrary to my excitement and a more canon note, he hasn't seen much barbie movies, so the experience is very new to him, but rest assured he played and dressed his part as a ken.
Although the major part of my excitement for the movie could be associated with my love for its animated predecessors, another contributor to this excitement would be perhaps it being directed one of my favorite directors of all time, with surprisingly just a few movies under her belt, Greta Gerwig. As An absolute fan of her previous works, I knew I would be in for a cinematic masterpiece, and I am absolutely delighted to say she definitely did not disappoint. In fact, the entire cast did not disappoint, Margot Robbie displayed absolute mastery of her craft, she embodied Barbie so well you would never have believed she was our Harley Quinn a couple years back, and Ryan Gosling was born to play ken.
Barbie land, the home to all the Barbies is an all-female powered world, with each barbie representing the dreams of many young girls. However, Barbie land Doesn't just have the barbies in it, it has an equivalent number of "just kens" -Ryan gosling playing lead Ken and Simu Liu his rival ken- and an Allan (everybody loves Allan). Barbie land in the movie does not in anyway fall short in representing the dream house as young girls would imagine it, Gerwig plays major attention in the creation of this world and it is all the more impressive when we realize that most of the things we see on screen are in fact practical rather than CGI, all the modes of transportation, including the 2d, faux looking car Barbie uses are in fact practical. Barbie land is entirely pink, the walls that look white are actually pink-makes sense now why Rosco's entire paint supply was used up- and the sand is pink!.
The movie its self is a beautiful blend of humor and witty and all the charm to make a perfect summer movie. It introduces us to Margot as stereotypical barbie, the one we all think of when we hear the word "barbie", she's blonde, slim with perfect hair, and the perfect wardrobe, who wakes up in her dreamhouse, surrounded by all her barbie friends, until its not so perfect when she begins to have the bane of every perfect dolls existence, yes, -cellulites-, and she starts to crave death, and her heels actually touch the ground? an action Hari Nef's Doctor Barbie hysterically describes as Flat feet. She visits weird barbie played by Kate Mckinnon, who informs her that her problem stems from the real world, a wormhole has been opened, between barbie world and the real world, our heroine must then go on a mission to find who in the real world is responsible for the change in her life. An ever so eager Ken accompanies barbie, and soon they arrive in the real world where barbie meets an angry Sasha played by Ariana Greenblatt, and ken on the other hand soon forsakes her after meeting a new world were Patriarchy rules and men are in charge, a deep contrast from Barbie land, all of these soon lead into a spiral of different happenings that overall shapes the master piece that is this movie.
Margot Robbie spares nothing in her portrayal of the excessive optimism that one would need for a movie like this. However, the movie is not in any way shallow, Whilst the movie is witty, comical and bright, and you do have a lot of LOLs, Greta manages to slap the audience with reality in a mask of comedy. The Kens are also not as shallow as the marketing may have portrayed, personally I would like to believe there was nothing "just" about Ryan goslings performance as ken, especially his musical renditions. One thing Barbie does extremely well is its exemplary use of irony, in contrasting the problems in the real world using barbie land- Greta for this, is a visionary.
There is no dull moment in the entire of the movie, America Ferrera does a perfect role as Gloria, a wanting mother who longs for something by reconnecting with her childhood, through a barbie doll, in a way we the audience can relate too, and I found myself nodding in agreement especially during her empowerment speech, I felt seen. Will Ferrell as Mattel's Ceo is the squasher of children dreams-very similar to his role in the Lego movies-, as he attempts to send barbie back into the box, and Ariana Greenblatt is the angry teenager. Barbie has a lot of Easter Eggs, Greta makes a lot of references to discontinued barbie dolls, and skipper isn't left out in this reference- we all remember the grown-up skipper doll? yeah she was referenced. I would say my highlight of the movie however, was the fourth wall break, it was executed so well, it served as a breath of fresh air to the audience.
Barbie ends on a relatively high note for stereotypical barbie, she finds the direction meant for her, and rhea perlmans cameo in the movie brings a heartwarming feeling, The Kens ending are for the audience to fully understand.
I must however say that one cannot full capture the essence of the barbie movie without a deep understanding, there's a lot of complexities hidden in a plethora of colors that can only be accessed with intention. However, the movie was a solid 10/10 for me and I walk out of the cinema, pleased and looking forward to rewatching it, but I must add, My brother might have enjoyed it more than anyone.
The Connoisseur.
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