This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the work being covered here wouldn’t exist.
From the prologue, which explains the transition of baby dolls, to the Barbie fashion doll, through a cheeky reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey, not only does Greta Gerwig’s long-awaited feature acknowledges the cultural impact of Mattel’s creation, but also playfully poking at it and not playing it safe. Since its inception, Barbie has always been a divisive phenomenon, in that it has addressed concerns over body image and how it could convey a negative influence of how women are viewed and behaved. There was even a whole episode of The Simpsons, in which Lisa grows frustrated at the sexism displayed by Malibu Stacy dolls.
A live-action Barbie movie had been in development over the years, going through multiple studios and ultimately Warner Bros. successfully making a doll movie, which ends up being the most inventively surreal toy movie since 2014’s The Lego Movie. Taking place in Barbieland, there is a matriarchal society where all women are self-confident, self-sufficient, successful and are named Barbie. However, when “Stereotypical Barbie”(Margot Robbie) starts going through an existential crisis, she along with Ken (Ryan Gosling) go on a journey of self-discovery through the real world.
After the numerous computer-animated direct-to-video and streaming television films based on the property, you know that Gerwig and her co-writer Noah Baumbach were going to do something unconventional. From the pink-tastic, artificial surroundings of Barbieland, everything must follow with how the Barbie dolls and sets were played as depicted in Stereotypical Barbie’s morning routine, where there is no liquid to shower or drink, and no one takes the stairs if they want to leave their open homes.
Honestly, the whole movie could have just been the everyday lives of the Barbies having dance parties and the Kens insulting one another with mild innuendo, and it still would have been loads of fun. However, once Robbie’s Barbie becomes stricken with worries about her own mortality, as well as having flat feet that sicken the other Barbies, the movie goes to another level. Once her Barbie and Gosling’s Ken their search, there is plenty of humor showing how out of place they are. Their journey sets them on a path where they go beyond their boundaries of what they were made for.
Having shown off her funny bone, especially during the numerous times she played Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie continues to be funny as a perfectly cast real-life Barbie, while having moments of emotion. As much as her Barbie sees the cracks of the real world and realizing that it’s not perfect, the most touching scene shows her seeing an elderly woman and stating how beautiful she is, of which the elder nicely acknowledges. From supporting players to cameos, everyone seems to be having a good time in their respected roles, but none more so than Ryan Gosling who steals every scene as Stereotypical Ken, who tries to win the love of his counterpart, only to learn about the American patriarchal system, which takes a turn for the worse.
No doubt as the narrative goes, it falls into a similar problem the The Lego Movie, where there is an overload of visual noise and humor that you might not keep up with and there are jokes that will go over the younger audience’ heads. Through its meta comedy, not only does the film poke fun at not just Mattel itself as a capitalist company that is almost as artificial as Barbieland, but there is also even a poke at the numerous properties that Warner Bros. has the rights to, which is surprising as this is the same studio that produced Ready Player One and Space Jam: A New Legacy. Given her indie credentials, Gerwig pushes the comedy even further with her love of classic cinema that is reflected upon Barbie’s surreal territory, including a climatic musical number.
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