July 19, 2023
Stereotypical Barbie (Margo Robbie) and the other Barbies lived in Barbieland, a land where women dominated society, serving as the president, supreme court, doctors, writers, and so forth. On the other hand, all Ken (Ryan Gosling) and the other Kens did all day was to hang around the beach bumming around. Ken had a crush on Barbie, and only felt his day was complete when she noticed him. However, Barbie would rather spend her nights with her fellow Barbies.
One night at a dance party, Barbie was suddenly stricken by thoughts of dying. The next day, she woke up feeling out of sorts, her daily routine all not going right. The last straw came when her feet could not remain on tiptoes as they were expected to after removing her shoes. Upon consultation with Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), Barbie was told that she has go to the Real World to find her owner Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), who was responsible for her depression.
The history of about how the advent of the Barbie doll revolutionized dolls for little girls was effectively executed via a witty beginning sequence inspired by "2001: A Space Odyssey." When we finally see Barbieland, we were enthralled by all its brightly and stylishly-dressed residents representing different races and occupations, and all its delightful, mostly pink infrastructure, vehicles and household appliances. These are shoo-ins for Oscar nominations in art direction, costume design and hair and makeup.
The screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach told a story which was likely furthest from the shallow childish plot most viewers were expecting. At the beginning, everything was all fun and games, but when Barbie suddenly became self-aware at that party, the story was just beginning to get much deeper than what the trailer would make you believe. The message of sexual politics was serious, but director Gerwig maintained the delightful absurdity and over-the-top foolishness both in Barbieland and the Real World.
Margot Robbie was definitely perfect for the role of Barbie, and she also nailed the dramatic arc her character would traverse in this film. Ryan Gosling may look too old to be Ken, but this Ken was a richer and more intense character, and he also got to sing. Simu Liu felt miscast as a Ken, but seeing Kingsley Ben-Adir (previous Malcolm X and current Gravik) as another Ken was an even bigger surprise. Will Ferrell did his Mattel CEO role as he always did well with his previous quirky characters with heart. Helen Mirren gave a chipper yet calming narration.
The closing credits was fun to watch as it confirmed that all the Barbie and Ken dolls shown, and the costumes they wore were actually based on real dolls. The same was true with other less popular (or discontinued) characters in the Barbie cinematic universe, like the pregnant Midge (Emerald Fennell) and Allan (Michael Cera), among others. Not to mention, it was also in the closing credits that we hear Aqua's iconic "Barbie Girl", albeit only aa a sample in Nicki Minaj's "Barbie World." And yes, the 9-dash line controversy was a non-issue here. 7/10.
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