After an impressive marketing campaign, Barbie arrives in theaters this week and brings all the fun, humor, and heart in an impressively directed package.
Barbie
Directed By: Greta Gerwig
Written By: Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach
Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae
Release Date: July 21, 2023
If you’d told me last year about how excited I’d be to see a Barbie movie, I wouldn’t have believed you. Yet, a stellar marketing campaign and trailers that exuded pure fun and great vibes managed to put my hype through the roof. Somehow, the film itself manages to beat any expectations I had, while taking the story in a direction I wasn’t expecting, all while keeping those fun vibes completely intact. It’s an impressive feat.
The Barbie Story
As you’ve likely gathered from the trailers, the story of Barbie is a big mix of a few ideas. Here, Barbieland is a “real” place and the toys within it live happily in their perfect world. They’re aware of being toys and that the real-world exists, but remain blissful in their perfect society until, or unless, something goes wrong.
When Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) begins having unusual existential thoughts, it becomes clear the barrier between Barbieland and the real world is torn. In order to repair the “tear” between their worlds, Barbie will have to venture to the real world along with Ken (Ryan Gosling) to put everything right.
The problem, however, is the real world isn’t anything like they expected. Instead of being revered, Barbie finds herself confronted with the reality of being a women, escaping the clutches of the Mattel corporation, and ultimately returning home to find Barbieland having a crisis of its own. To save both worlds, Barbie will have to embrace what makes her special and see the value beyond the packaging.
I really don’t want to get into the story much more than that. While I don’t think any big spoilers will ruin the overall fun, the story definitely did some things I wasn’t expecting (especially with Ken). Suffice it to say, it’s a fun meta-story that gets weird in all the right places while keeping you hooked all the way through. Despite being a tale about Barbie being an idea and not an individual, it’s a surprisingly sharp character story with some emotional payoffs even amongst the laughs.
Heart and Humor
I cannot overstate just how funny the Barbie movie is. However humorous the trailers/clips have been, the full movie manages to go so much further. Between the meta-based gags and pitch perfect timing/line delivery, this film had me (and the entire theater I watched with) full-on belly laughing at multiple points.
Even on the drive home, thinking back on various scenes were leaving me in stitches, as I tried to narrow down a favorite funny moment, I found myself in stitches. There are so many great gags, it’s impossible to choose just one. The humor works on several levels, and because so many are purely based on visuals, I imagine this comedy is going to hold up incredibly well on multiple viewings. I already can’t wait to go back and see the things I may have missed the first time around.
Beyond the humor, however, lies a touching (and very poignant) story. It tackles hefty topics regarding patriarchy, what it means to be an individual, and understanding the power and beauty of being yourself. As great as the actors do in landing the punchlines, they’re equally great at those more somber moments as well (oftentimes having to jump back and forth between them within the same scene).
The result are some stunning performances that manage to infuse those more serious moments with genuine heart/feeling. As Barbie first comes into contact with her own feelings of anxiety and heartbreak, Margot Robbie does a phenomenal job conveying those emotions in an empathetic way. Even more impressive that her reactions feel very much in line with the other aspects of Barbie/toys established throughout the film.
Even as Ken, who’s mostly portrayed as simple and one-dimensional, Ryan Gosling manages to bring a surprising amount of depth to the character. Though his arc is the one most shrouded in humor, its easy to see the feeling behind all of his choices, and the sense that there’s more to Ken than what we see on the surface.
This is pretty much the case for just about everyone in the film. While Barbie and Ken (the main ones) get the primary focus of the story, the stacked cast brings something unique to all of the various incarnations of the iconic doll. Even if they have a small amount of screen time, they’re an instant presence and memorable in their own ways.
America Ferrera, who plays a real-world human caught up in the adventure, is another standout I feel should be mentioned. Arguably, her role is as important as Robbie’s though I suspect she’ll get overlooked (even her presence in the marketing materials has been minimal). She’s fantastic, however, and helps ground the story in necessary ways, while bringing an important perspective to the audiences.
Impressive Directing
One of the things I was most impressed about with Barbie is how it somehow manages to balance being subversive and direct in its messaging. The way it uses humor would, in any other circumstances, seem to take away from the message it’s giving. And yet, these gags only manage to enhance the overall themes and make those emotional moments hit even harder.
It’s no easy feat, but Great Gerwig’s directing prowess is on full display here. Even as the movie decides to beat you over the head with certain themes and a bit “on the nose,” she knows exactly when to pull it back. One moment in particular (which I won’t spoil), feels on the verge of being too much; too direct. Just as it’s reaching this point, however, the scene shifts and moves forward. It dances right up to the line of being “eye-rolling” but knows exactly when to stop. It’s something Gerwig has done throughout most of her filmography, though it feels even more refined and on point in Barbie.
Beyond that, it’s just a gorgeous looking film. The design is fantastic, the VFX choices are fun and fit well within the context of the film, and Gerwig shows a firm grasp of what makes big movies feel like big movies. She makes brilliant use of familiar filmmaking techniques (and tropes) to offer something a bit different.
There are a couple set pieces that feel at home in any other action film (including a car chase and large-scale battle), but they completely off the rails. They’re absurd and subversive, yet by using the visual language associated with those types of action sequences, it pulls the audience in despite how weird things get. It makes the absurd more palatable and allows us the audience to just enjoy the adventure unfolding.
