Review:
"Barbie"
Release Date: July 21, 2023
Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 114 minutes Is the Barbie doll a vehicle for girl empowerment and racial harmony? Or a perpetuator of gender stereotypes and a prisoner of consumerism? These are questions that have haunted the Mattel toy line for decades and are now being asked anew by Greta Gerwig, the writer/director of the hot-pink mess of meta-humor that is Barbie. To its credit, Gerwig’s attempt to do for Barbie what The Lego Movie did for toy construction bricks does not shy away from addressing the conflicting feelings about the fashion doll that once—and may still—set unrealistic beauty and body standards. Barbie’s positive and negative influences on a society often obsessed with the skin-deep informs every minute of this two-hour jaunt that divides its time between the matriarchal paradise that is Barbieland and the real world that’s run by mediocre white men. But even with its in-depth exploration of toxic masculinity, via Ryan Gosling’s incel-ish Ken doll exposed to a near-fatal dose of male supremacy, Barbie unfolds as much as an infomercial as it does self-parody. The premise is simple: Margot Robbie’s self-described “stereotypical Barbie” experiences an existential crisis that is accompanied by the shocking appearance of cellulite on her thighs. She leaves the safe refuge of Barbieland for the real world to identify and fix the source of her psychological and physical concerns. She is accompanied by Gosling as one of Barbieland’s many Kens, whose only function in life is to serve as loyal companions to their female superiors. While Barbie runs into trouble in the real world, Ken’s eye-opening experiences in a male-dominated society stirs in him the desire to be more than just a Barbieland accessory. After establishing herself as a director to watch with Lady Bird and Little Women, actor-turned-filmmaker Greta Gerwig may seem like an unusual choice to bring Barbie to the big screen. But Barbie is as much an exploration of feminism as Lady Bird and Little Women. Working from a script co-written with her creative and life partner Noah Baumbach, Gerwig successfully presents Barbie as a woman whose world is literally and figuratively turned upside down, prompting a vital quest for self and identity. The journey Barbie undertakes allows Gerwig to dissect and tear down in energetic and occasionally absurdist fashion a society that too often devalues women. What’s immediately evident from Barbie is that Gerwig comes from a position of love and affection for the doll that millions otherwise loathe for maintaining a sexist status quo. Barbie is never a target of criticism but a vehicle Gerwig employs to critique. And this is certainly reflected in Margot Robbie’s devoted and ultimately empathetic depiction of a woman not just enduring an identity crisis but struggling to understand her creator’s true intent for her and whether it has been perverted by the suits who now run Mattel. By design or accident, Barbie does at times border on religious allegory. That said, Gerwig does not always hit every target she aims at. For example, Gerwig seems very hesitant to bite the hand that feeds. Just when you think Gerwig is going to take a bat to Mattel for any damage Barbie may have done over the decades to impressible young minds, she pulls back. Through Will Ferrell, unspeakably awful the Mattel’s CEO who insists he’s not in it for the money, Gerwig can’t even bring herself to label Mattel as squeezing every penny out of its most prominent toy despite some questionable past lines of dolls and accessories. In fact, the whole subplot involving Mattel adds little to the proceedings beyond essential exposition. While Robbie is clearly at ease as Barbie, most often wearing a smile that blinds and displaying an sunny deposition, Ryan Gosling always seems uncomfortable as the himbo on a dubious mission. Yes, Gosling’s Ken undergoes a drastic transformation that causes all sorts of headaches for Barbie, but Gosling fails to bring a modicum of wit or vim to his line readings. It is hard to tell whether Gosling simply does not have the comic chops for a role that requires leaning hard into its silliness or is just bored being eye candy. The generally dismissive attitude toward Ken—which begins with Grewig and continues through Gosling and Robbie—also informs Barbie’s resolution. There’s no denying Ken’s push to transform Barbieland into something it should not be is both extreme and harmful, but whatever potential positive change can from it is shoved aside to maintain the status quo. Which is odd considering the film’s constant demands for gender equality at home and in the workplace. Barbieland itself is exactly what you think it is: a planned community with life-sized dollhouses set against fakes beaches and landscapes. It is all very pink and garish, but one person’s paradise is another’s hell. Barbieland’s population is young and diverse, with bodies coming in all shapes and sizes. But there is no room for outlier such as Kate McKinnon’s Weird Barbie, whose psychological issues and physical deformities are no fault of her own. It’s painful to watch the other Barbies—especially the one played by Margot Robbie—treat her like an pariah. Worse, Gerwig always wants us to laugh at Weird Barbie, not laugh with her. Very un-Barbieland-like. Otherwise, Barbieland possesses a strong energy that Gerwig fails to duplicate with her direction, which is often as flat and unwelcoming as the plastic waves Gosling’s Ken hurls himself against in a fruitless bid to surf. The most imagination Gerwig displays comes with moving the inhabitants of Barbieland around town to mirror the way a child would play with a doll. Even the musical numbers are stiffly choreographed. Jokes too often lack any edge or are too obvious—you know when you are in trouble when a film’s biggest laugh involves a not-so-subtle dig at the SnyderVerse. And the film’s final punch line, while funny when considering the actual Barbie doll, is as cheap as they come. As pointed and insightful as it often as, Gerwig’s Barbie wants it all but too often settles for much less. Robert Sims Aired: July 19, 2023. Web sites: https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/barbie |
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