Barbie – Shea’s Review

Okay so reviewing Barbie in late September when it has been out since almost mid-July is definitely a call, but something also just feels right about this movie being my first review here on Screen Love Affair.

I’ll start out with the obvious face that at first glance you might assume that I’m not necessarily the target demographic for the Barbie movie. Heck, before the first trailer dropped for it, I didn’t think that I was going to be going to see Barbie at all. As of September 25th, 2023 I have seen Barbie four times now: twice during a Barbenheimer double feature, once with a friend who hadn’t yet seen it, and once more in IMAX. So clearly something changed!

I was intrigued when Greta Gerwig was set to direct and co-write the movie with her husband Noah Baumbach. I’m a big fan of both of them, but I was sure that this was going to be just another studio cash grab made for little kids. After all, we’re deep in the era of “content” instead of cinema. I won’t get into the details of that distinction here, but check out Patrick Willems video on it here if you’re interested!

That all changed with the first teaser, which also is how we open the movie. Starting off with a near shot-for-shot parody of the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, the movie promises the viewer that this isn’t just another form of phoned in content made for little kids.

From that opening scene, the passion is clear in almost every aspect of this movie. From the beautiful sets of Barbieland, to the amazing performances from the entire cast, and the heartfelt evolution of these characters. What Gerwig and the team accomplished with this movie is remarkable, but that’s not an original claim for a movie that has shattered box office records and blew past ever increasing expectations as opening weekend approached.

What works most for me throughout the movie though was the performances and the satirical tone of the movie. Save for a few moments where some characters say the themes in more direct ways, most of the movie shines as it exaggerates the positive impact of Barbie on the real world, to the way Ken discovers the patriarchy by seeing flashes of Bill Clinton, Hummers, Ronald Regan, horses, and just dudes being bros.

On the supporting side, Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera, and especially Michael Cera do great jobs. Cera plays Alan and gets an audible reaction from the audience almost every time he’s on screen.

Speaking of performances though, this brings me to my personal favorite part of the movie which is Ryan Gosling as Ken. Barbie and Ken could’ve easily been the title of this movie given how much time Gosling gets to shine and boy does he shine brightly. Gosling’s comedic chops are on full display in this movie and between this and his 2016 film The Nice Guys, if he only did comedies from here on out that would be fine with me.

With that said though, Ken is not there just to lighten the tone in the movie. He has his own character arc where Gosling gets the opportunity to flash a few serious moments in between all of the other side splitting lines he delivers.

Robbie also shines in this movie as her Stereotypical Barbie character starts to develop some complicated feelings and emotions as she becomes faced with change to the life she’s enjoyed in Barbieland.

From a simple scene at a bus stop, Robbie does so much with so few words to really draw the emotion out of these scenes. Her performance combined with the music from Billie Eilish really tug at your heartstrings at all the right moments.

Quick note on the music as well, this is one of the best soundtracks we’ve had for a movie in a while. Eilish’s song “What Was I Made For” is used brilliantly throughout the movie to enhance those emotional moments, while Lizzo, Dua Lipa, and Charlie XCX, offer up some great tunes for the movie. Don’t worry, “Barbie World” by Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice, and Aqua is in there too! Gosling though also shines in the music department here with two songs, including “I’m Just Ken” and cover which I won’t spoil here. I fully expect to see Ryan Gosling in my Spotify Top 5 at the end of the year!

I want to avoid getting into the whole discussion about whether or not this movie is “anti-men” simply because I believe that nobody that honestly watched this movie could ever have that interpretation. Heck, I’ve even read comments from people who think the movie was too nice to the male characters in the movie.

The themes and messages of this movie are more nuanced and universal than even I expected going in. I do think there is a bit more here for the girls, who definitely deserve a movie this good, but there is still something here for nearly everyone to connect with.

As far as things I didn’t like, there really wasn’t much here. There’s a couple of moments where I felt the movie get a little more heavy handed about the themes. This is something though that other friends had no problem with, so your mileage may vary. I just felt the movie was doing such a good job throughout of showing those themes and messages in smart ways, so when the movie takes a more direct approach to really spell things out it just sort of feels out of place. Overall though, I really don’t have much to complain about with this one!

Both Barbie and Oppenheimer opened on the same weekend and the Barbenheimer phenomenon captured audiences hearts and minds. At the time of writing, Barbenheimer has grossed almost $2.5 billion dollars ($1.5 billion for Barbie & $925 million for Oppenheimer). For nearly two weeks when Barbie opened, theaters were jampacked and full of pink. Theaters are still in the post-COVID recovery period and I’m so glad that it was two movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer that have seen such success! I only hope this momentum continues as we (hopefully) approach the end of the WGA and SAG strikes.

If you’d like to hear my thoughts of the “enheimer” of Barbenheimer then let me know!

Verdict

This movie is definitely well worth your time. It’s fun and heartfelt which is exactly what you want a good time at the movies to be!

Have you had the chance to see Barbie yet? Let me know what you thought of the movie and please share your thoughts about my review as well! Thanks for reading and being part of my Screen Love Affair!