Barbie (2023)

 

You would think that a film based on this franchise would fail, right? How wrong everyone could be, because not only does this film make sense, it is also funny, clever, thought-provoking and a blast to watch from start to finish, fully embracing the absurd premisse and having a ball with it.

No, I did not expect to be so invested in Barbie. Go figure.

Right off the bat this film sets the tone, as a snarky narrator (a gleefully sarcastic Helen Mirren) talks about Barbieland, where everything is sunshine and rainbows and all the Barbies (including the discontinued ones of the bizarre editions) live their wonderful lives. Oh, and the Kens hang around as well. That is, until Stereotypical Barbie (Robbie) begins to question her existence and her feet suddenly fully touch the ground. She discovers that there is a girl somewhere in the real world who is having a crisis of sorts and this is why Barbie is feeling the backlash. So she has to go into the real world and try to reconnect with the girl.

Things don't go entirely according to plan however, as Barbie and Ken (who tagged along) discover the real world is nothing like they were meant to believe. Barbie also finds out that the girl she is looking for is in fact the mom.

And Ken discovers the patriarchy and brings it back to Barbieland, thus starting a revolution of sorts which turns Barbieland into a land for bros. 

This film has an insane amount of fun with its ideas. Barbieland is all pink and plastic and every car, house and attribute is an exact copy of the toys, which is a brilliant degree of accuracy. Even the fact that the Barbies seem to be slightly too large for their attributes is done in line with the scale of the dolls versus the rest. The musical and dance routines are catchy as all heck and they fit wonderfully. The jokes vary from a slight snigger to full blast laughter (bonus points for John Cena popping up as a male mermaid. There's an image you won't get rid of that easily) and it never lets up.

But underneath and through it all are clever ideas about consumerism, the patriarchy, female empowerment and everything in between. So sure, some nitwits will shout "WOKE!" at the top of their lungs, but we can easily relegate them to the closet they belong in. This film has things to say and will make you think, but it never stands in the way of the sheer enjoyment and fun this entire project brings. 

And truly, it's tough to see how anyone but Margot Robbie could play the titular character. And Ryan Gosling turns out to be a Ken cast to perfection. 

So yeah: this is an absolute hoot and you should truly check it out.