If you were expecting a care free, light hearted, fun cinema getaway, filled with laughs and beautiful people, well, Barbie is that…Kind of.
I want to start this review with some positivity, as this movie is overall enjoyable and does have a plethora of “SUBLIME!” moments and performances.
Barbie, explores two starkly contrasted worlds with great success, Barbie-land and our own Reality. The former a land of surface level perfection, bright colours and a whole lot of beach. The latter, as you well know, is a world of daily horrors, prejudice and discontent. Yet, Barbie, expertly shows that two worlds apart can have profound similarities.
Whether that be, the demonstration of perfection as an unobtainable ideal that is only achieved from the perspective of a person who neglects all that is needed to fill a life with any true sustenance or meaning and or a Ken. PS. Stop neglecting Ken.
Or, that through the depiction of life’s simple treasures, love, compassion and understanding, happiness and humour can still be found in a broken world.
Barbie, does 'simple' great, the simplicity of characters such as Ken, Alan and Weird Barbie, work in tandem with classic tropes such as musical dance numbers, I particularly love Ryan Gosling’s “Just Ken”, fish out of water hijinks and a deep emotional connection between a mother and a daughter.
The aforementioned connection between Gloria (America Ferrera) and her daughter Sasha, is for me, the single strongest aspect of Barbie’s cinematic debut. We see a mother struggle, as her daughter transitions from girlhood to women-hood, delving into their shared memories, finding comfort in the innocence and purity a Barbie doll can provide, ultimately accepting that although Barbie is “Perfect”, less than perfect is your own form of perfection.
There is also an added element of fun sprinkled throughout the movie and that is the shear volume of pop culture references throughout the feature, many of which are weaved throughout the storyline as smooth as Grease… get it? Ha...ha...ha.
Where Barbie begins to falter is the breaking of stereotypes only to create stereotypes of their own, paired with not so subtle social commentary, meta narratives mixed within a repetitive script that makes the 2nd and 3rd act very difficult to digest.
I am fully aware that, for all extensive purposes, I am not the target audience of this summer flick and I am by no means saying that you have to be a certain type of anything to enjoy a movie, full of previously stated, laughs, great performances and heartfelt moments for all to appreciate from start to finish, not to mention the immersive and colourful sets, killer wardrobe and groovy soundtrack.
I just cant help but think, that if prior to sitting down in the slightly uncomfortable cinema seats, dressed head to toe in hot pink, you didn’t have any previous knowledge of Barbie director Greta Gerwig’s work, then you would walk out of the theatre, questioning your ideals, your goals, your daily life and what it meant to be a woman or a man in todays society, instead of just being able to destress and enjoy some girly fun.
Both should have been achievable for such a highly anticipated movie, with a star studded cast and a high brow director, who successfully showed the talents and skills of all her cast equally, yet, failed to equally distribute its messages and point of view, creating an uneasy and overall disappointing theatre experience.
The message Barbie was trying to convey and most likely did convey to a wide range of people, is important and it should be ringing in our heads day to day, It should be plastered across our tv shows, movie screens and social networks,
WOMEN ARE STRONG, SEXY AND SMART. THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH A HELL OF A LOT OF SHIT DAY TO DAY FOR NO PROPS WHATSOEVER, NO THANK YOU OR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. THEY ARE TALENTED, AND CAN DO ANYTHING THEY WANT, BE ANYTHING THEY WANT. YET ARE STILL MADE TO FEEL SELF CONSCIOUS OR LESS THAN FOR JUST BEING WHO THEY ARE OR CHOOSE TO BE AND IT ISN’T OKAY, IT NEVER WAS AND IT NEVER WILL BE.
Those are my words, and you can bet your ass I mean every single one of them, but when it comes to a movie’s ability to resonate with as many Women, Men and Children as possible, messages or information shouldn’t feel as if they have being shouted at you, or forced upon you, they shouldn’t be at the detriment to anybody else and or a storyline. you should leave the theatre having absorbed the director’s vision without it having disrupted the movie going experience.
Still go watch Barbie, still enjoy yourself, but when it is all over, will you be able to whip Barbie on an endless loop like the feel good classics referenced in the movie, such as Mean Girls, Clueless, Grease, West Side Story, Singing in the Rain, any musical ever, I don't think so...
