Review - "Barbie", a Pink Soaked Summer Extravaganza

"Barbie" | Warner Bros. Media


Without a shadow of a doubt the “kenergy” this summer is off the charts, in no small part due to the release of Greta Gerwig's “Barbie” movie. Mattel’s first foray into film, it has quickly become the one of the largest successes of 2023. It stands as a hilarious and satirical journey into the pink soaked world of Barbie.

The film centers around the titular Barbie (Margot Robbie) traveling to the real world after gaining irrepressible thoughts of death, flat feet, and cellulite. On this adventure to the real world she is unexpectedly joined by the lovelorn Ken (Ryan Gosling). Arriving at Venice Beach in Los Angeles Barbie discovers the world is not as perfect as she was expecting and for Ken it’s better than he could have imagined. While in the real world Ken learns about the patriarchy and decides to take it back to Barbie Land. Upon Barbie's return to Barbie Land she discovers that the Kens have taken over and that she, along with a woman named Gloria (America Ferrera) and her daughter (Ariana Greenblatt), may be the only hope to return the power to the Barbies.

Although it is a meta-comedy it handles social commentary about gendered societal norms, both of Barbie Land and the real world, and satirizes them through exaggerated characters, like the CEO of Mattel (Will Farrel), to make them stand out more in the film. The real world and Barbie Land act as exact opposites of each other and with that the movie talks about the negatives of both patriarchal and matriarchal societies.

The casting is perfect with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling both fully embodying Barbie and Ken, making them feel like real, albeit unrealistic, people. The rest of the Barbies (Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef) and the Kens (Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans) give amazing performances as well. Finally, America Ferrera gives a standout performance as Gloria, especially in the latter half of the movie.

Most of the film is quite outlandish and funny, but throughout the film's 114 minute run time there are many parts that are heartfelt and emotional. One such scene near the beginning shows Barbie sitting on a bench and observing the real world for the first time, showing the many emotions that humans can experience, which stands in stark contrast to Barbie Land.

Although the special effects may be a negative to some, to many they are a huge positive because they lean into the campiness of both the story and characters. The sets in Barbie Land look exactly like the toys, from the dream houses, to the cars, and even the animals. The costume design also takes into account the Barbie lifestyle with bright colors and actual costumes Barbie Dolls have worn in the past.

This film shows that even the most basic toys can have human and meaningful storylines while keeping the feel and tone that the toys elicit. It carries a good balance of whimsy and seriousness, with an ending that will stick with you long after you finish watching it. A smart script, amazing performances, and a perfectly executed grease style dance off makes “Barbie” a must see movie of the summer and an unexpectedly popular blockbuster.



Director Greta Gerwig


Starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Michael Cera, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa, Alexandra Shipp, Hari Neff, Scott Evans


Rated PG-13


My Rating ★★★★★

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interview - OhVee: A Rising Star in the Music World

Image
OhVee opening for BIGBABYGUCCI at Madame Lous. Photo taken by Rico Suavè Jr. From LBCC student to a star in the making, Oliver Vatcoskay also known as OhVee is steadily rising in the musical world. Recently he’s had guest performances with the popular rappers Yung Bans and F1lthy who each have more than half a million listeners.  He also recently opened for the popular artist BIGBABYGUCCI at Madame Lous in Seattle, Washington. As always, creating connections with popular artists is a must in the music industry and OhVee is steadily building that ladder into the stars. Born in Las Vegas, he moved to the Albany area in 2013 with his love of music already brewing. His goals have flourished with the support of his family and friends throughout the years.  When he was young he mixed pre-existing songs and now he mixes his own original music, sometimes with popular artists. Originally listening to rock music like Metallica and Santana he gradually shifted to rap where he would end up findi
Read more

Barry: A Show That Is to Die for

Image
A bathroom door stands open and out steps a man in all black. He looks solemn, sad, and even bored as he walks through the door and across the room. The camera follows him to reveal a man lying in a bed, shot in the head.  The mystery man unscrews a silencer from his pistol and tucks it away into his jacket pocket. He walks away from the bed only to look back one more time, nonchalantly checking his watch, seeming indifferent to the man he has just killed.  This is Barry Berkman. Barry Season 1 Poster Now in its final season, HBO’s “Barry” is a critically acclaimed television show written, directed, and produced by Bill Hader. During its final season “Barry” averages 2.6 million viewers every Sunday. It has had similar viewership for the previous three seasons as well. I binged the first three seasons rather quickly and it is now one of my favorite shows because of its mixing of genres and interesting characters. Starring Hader, the “Saturday Night Live” star, and acting legend Henry W
Read more

Review - 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Is a Master Class of Story and Animation

Image
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse". Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation Swinging into theaters on June 2, “ Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse ” is the hotly anticipated sequel to the 2018 smash hit film “Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse.” This film stands as part one of the finale of the “Spider-verse” series. Many laud “Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse” as one of, if not, the best animated movies ever created for its animation, themes, and story and how do you beat that — by being its sequel. The story picks up about a year after the events of “Into the Spider-verse” with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) and Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) separated into their own spider-verses. The movie opens with Gwen fighting the classic Spider-Man villain The Vulture and meeting Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) and Jessica Drew (Issa Rae).  It then jumps forward four months and into a new universe, now following Miles trying to defeat a new villain, The Spot (Jason Schwartzman). The
Read more