The Golden Age of cinema was filled with beautifully designed and built sets, explosions of colour on the silver screen for the first time, and sudden inspiring musical numbers! You had Fred Astaire, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Judy Garland, and so many more fantastic actors. It was a time that created what we now have and is also probably the very thing we’re missing in modern cinema, a splash of fun mixed in with all the drama and action. Like a dream dance sequence instead of two people fighting for a boring length of time. Barbie has brought back all of the things that made the golden age of cinema so golden and made it pink whilst also creating one of the most hard-hitting emotional journeys that the silver screen has seen in recent years.
Barbie, in case you weren’t already aware, is about the famous Mattel doll Barbie. Barbie, played perfectly by Margot Robbie, lives in Barbieland and when her perfect image starts to crumble she must venture out into the real world to become her true self again. Joining her on this adventure is her Ken, played by, again perfectly, Ryan Gosling, the two must venture into the world that they believe they have made perfect through the existence of Barbies.
It is quite an amazing feat that the Barbie movie is what it is. It feels almost untouched by the very corporation that has allowed the film to be made. One of Barbie’s best moments is the Mattel logo being used to block crude language. It is a bold strategy that works wonders, and the film can really only exist with the freedom that writer and director Greta Gerwig clearly had. Barbie’s plus is that Gerwig had a clear and brilliant vision of what the Barbie movie should be and what it should represent. You can see her inspirations from classic cinema all over the film.
Barbie has a very clear Wizard of Oz inspiration, right down to its pink-bricked roads. That inspiration can be found in the built sets, the painted backdrops, and especially in the overall story where multiple characters are going through their own journey and each one must get their own purpose-built ending. Barbie and Dorothy are both on missions with their fellow characters and almost entirely care about them more than themselves which works perfectly in both films.
Look I’m a Ken guy writing about a feminist movie and I’m not going to type and pretend to know everything about gender struggles and inequality but what I will say is I can only imagine how Gerwig has hit a bullseye with this film. Barbie is more than just a fun movie about the famous doll, it is a journey of self-discovery, identity, and the plastic paradox that is Barbie. It is a film that looks at the good and bad parts of Barbie being out in the world and what Barbie represents and how the doll itself affects so many people. From its 2001 A Space Odessey inspired beginning to its emotional ending, this is an In the Real World with Real Relatable Issues Barbie. It is a great film for showing how the world is, displaying it in front of you and not forcing you to learn but rather learning with fun and laughter.
Where Barbie really shines is that journey of self-discovery and not being sure why you are here or what your purpose is. Mix that together with the fact that Barbies have influenced the lives and views of millions and you have yourself a powerful story. Figuring out how you feel and who you are yourself is one of life’s greatest mysteries, some have it easy and they just know and some don’t. I’m one of those people who don’t and the ending of Barbie made me tear up and hit me really hard…even though yes I’m a Ken. Films with these story elements and structure can be found quite a lot but to put that in the Barbie movie and hide it (from trailers and so on) is almost forcing people to think about it when they were least expecting it. This a tactic that could do a world of good for a lot of unsuspecting people, it isn’t for some people but maybe you have a fellow Barbie or Ken who aligns themselves or struggles with that issue in their life or maybe you know someone with outdated views…make them watch the Barbie movie.
Speaking of Ken, he is an interesting character in the film, in fact, it is almost the Barbie and Ken movie, the idea of whether Ken is just an accessory is greatly explored and Ryan Gosling acts the hell out of Ken. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are both perfect for the film and both of them put in career highlight performances. Both of them move, talk and feel like their cool dolls to pinpoint precision and emotion. The Kens have quite a large story in the film and one that greatly amplifies the film’s messaging of self-discovery and self-worth, Ken is pretty much the villain of the film whilst his life, the way he views it and what type of person he wants to be are crucial to Barbie’s own journey. Both writers, Gerwig and Noah Baumbach found a perfect balance in the story for both characters to go through their moments without outshining or pulling focus from the other.
This is the Barbie movie though and by the time the credits rolled, you will have smiled, laughed, danced, and cried with Barbie. At times the film feels like a big-budget blockbuster film but then it is brought down to Earth and it feels like an indie movie. It never overstays its welcome and doesn’t overstimulate with too many cameos and unnecessary things to focus on. Barbie fans will see every reference and those of us who know Barbie through pop culture and younger sisters will also get most of it, no one misses out on the Barbie fun.
The Barbie movie, all I can say is wow the hype is real, like it is beyond real. There couldn’t be a better Barbie movie or a better movie made about a doll in the real world coming to life. This soul-searching, heart-wrenching film filled with fun, colour, and dancing is nothing short of spectacular. I can’t wait to show it to my girlfriend, my mum, my friend who says “Why would I care about a Barbie movie?”. Greta Gerwig has created a classic film for all to enjoy, a film that stands tall beside the very films that inspired it. Wizard of Oz, Singin’ in the Rain, and the Barbie movie put it in the classics section and keep it there because this is an Inspirational Cinematic Hit Barbie!
Score: 5/5 of your favorite Barbies…or Kens.