In the over sixty years since Barbie was first released, there have been many differing opinions on the incredibly popular doll. Some have seen Mattel’s creation as a sign of empowerment, an example to young girls showing that they can become anything they want to be, while others have seen it as a symbol of impossible standards and outdated ideals.Barbiecould’ve easily been little more than a toy ad, but through director and co-writerGreta Gerwig, it becomes an existential look at the difficulties of being a woman, the terrifying nature of life in general, the understanding that trying to be perfect is absurd, while also encapsulating everything that Barbie has meant to people—both good and bad. But amongst all this, Gerwig makesBarbieone of the funniest comedies of the year, a delightfully strange adventure that gets weirder at every turn. Barbie has always contained multitudes and, fittingly, so does Gerwig’s excellent third film.
A beloved doll, known for her perfect life in an idyllic, colorful world, finds herself on an unexpected journey when she starts to feel out of place. Seeking answers, she leaves her fantastical home and steps into the real world, where she experiences the highs and lows of human life. With the help of new friends, she navigates the challenges of identity and purpose, discovering the importance of authenticity and inner strength.
What Is ‘Barbie’ About?
Margot Robbiestars as Barbie, the iconic doll who lives in Barbie Land with the other Barbies(played byEmma Mackey,Hari Nef,Alexandra Shipp, and many, many others), where they all have the best day of their life every day. In this land, the Barbies rule, as they have a Barbie president (Issa Rae), they run the land’s congress, and win Nobel Prizes daily. The Barbies believe that their example of a female-run world has been an inspiration to the Real World, which they assume is also run by empowered women. Barbie Land also has its share of Kens, who only have a good day if Barbie notices them. Ken (Ryan Gosling) is in love with Robbie’s Barbie, and fights for her attention with Ken (Simu Liu) when he’s not doing his job of “beach.”
After yet another incredible day in Barbie Land, Robbie’s Barbie mentions that she’s been thinking about death, which stops her grand, choreographed dance party at her Barbie mansion dead in its tracks. The next morning, nothing is right. Her shower is cold, she falls off her roof, and her feet are no longer perfectly shaped to fit her high heels. To find out what’s going wrong, she’s told by Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon)—who knows of the human world all too well after being played with too hard—that she must go to the Real World and find the girl who is playing with her. Clearly, this girl is also having these negative feelings, and things won’t be right with Barbie until things are repaired.To fix her world, Barbie and Gosling’s Ken go to the Real World to find Barbie’s owner, but in doing so, they both find a world that couldn’t be more different than their own.
Greta Gerwig Is the Perfect Filmmaker to Tell This Story
Barbieis ambitious in its approach to the quintessential toy, and this story simply wouldn’t work without the direction of Gerwigand her andNoah Baumbach’s bonkers script.Barbiebalances the incredibly pointed specificity of the jokes and relatability ofLady Bird, with the celebration of women and the ability to show a new angle of something we thought we knew like we saw with Gerwig’s take onLittle Women. Gerwig and Baumbach manage to make this not feel like a toy ad, but rather, a discussion of sexism and womanhood that’s also hysterical and extremely odd. This is a film that balances jokes about Ken being good at his job of “beach,” with references to Marcel Proust and Stephen Malkmus. It’s almost shocking how much this duo gets away with in this script, and in certain moments, like a major speech byAmerica Ferrera’s Gloria, who works at Mattel, it’s beautiful that some of these scenes can exist in a big-budget summer film like this. While many have tried to get this idea off the ground and running, it’s hard to imagine anyone doing it with as much skill and care as Gerwig and Baumbach do here.
Gerwig’s direction here is also terrific, as she’s able to make Barbie Land feel real, with production designerSarah Greenwoodand set decoratorKatie Spencerdoing unbelievable work throughout. Gerwig’s work behind the camera is vibrant and bold, and it’s great to see her have such a massive canvas to play with. Gerwig’s handling of this story can’t help but remind of the eye-popping colors ofJacques Demyfilms likeThe Young Girls of RochefortorThe Umbrellas of Cherbourg, fantasy numbers that feel right out ofAn American in Paris, and the perfectly constructed offices of Mattel in the real world feel likeJacques Tati’sPlayTime.Barbiealso uses its superb soundtrack, fromMark RonsonandAndrew Wyatt, to elevate this story in brilliant ways. For example,Lizzo’s “Pink” almost acts as a narrator to Barbie’s plight at the beginning of the film,while Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” is a pitch-perfect addition to one of the movie’s most moving scenes. Again, it’s this consideration and intentional placement of all these elements that Gerwig adds to the film that makes this feel like more than just “a film about Barbie.”
The only segment ofBarbiethat doesn’t work as well as it maybe should is the addition of Mattel into this narrative.Will Ferrellappears as the CEO of Mattel, and his all-male boardroom attempts to get Barbie back to the Real World, lest the world finds out how easy it is for toys to come into our world. It’s an admirable addition, with Gerwig commenting on how this girl’s toy is largely created by men and how hypocritical that can be. While that’s certainly worth adding to this story, the film frequently returns to these characters, andespecially by the end, they seem to be more of a burden to the story of Ken and Barbie than actually a useful addition. They’ve made their point, and yet, the film continually comes back to them in a way it probably doesn’t need to. But again, this is a minor complaint, and it’s at least impressive that Gerwig and Baumbach were able to get away with making the company behind this film part of the inherent problem with this icon in the first place.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are Tremendous as Barbie and Ken
Of course,Barbiewould be nothing without Barbie, and Robbie is simply incredible in the title role.Robbie can represent everything this toy has meant to people, as we watch this plaything become human, in her own way. Robbie is very funny when she needs to be, but we can feel the weight of this character learning that the world isn’t what she always hoped it would be. She discovers she might not be the icon of change that she thought she was and begins to understand just how terrifying change can be. It’s as if Gerwig and Baumbach are diving into everything this character has meant over the decades and how that has and hasn’t worked, and Robbie encompasses that perfectly. She has often excelled in these types of roles where we see the power a woman truly has in her environment, but there might not be a better example of that than in Barbie.
Gosling is equally fantastic as Ken, a lovable idiot who thinks the patriarchy has something to do with horses and men ruling the world together. Ken seeing the power that men have in the real world and embracing it could’ve been abrasive, but Gosling always manages to make this character goofy and understandable. As a character who just wants to be seen, our world makes Ken into a person with power like he’s always wanted. Gosling is always great when he embraces comedy, like we’ve seen withThe Nice Guysand moments ofLa La Land, but Ken allows Gosling to go broad in a way that we’ve never seen him go before, and the result is charming, bizarre, and one of the most hysterical performances of the year.
In the months sinceBarbiecame out,after the Barbenheimer faddied down and after the film would go on to become one of the most successful films of all-time,what’s most impressive aboutBarbieis that it exists in this form at all. Gerwig knows that this is a film that the world will be against (“a movie about atoy??“), and yet, she handles every aspect with an impeccable consideration and brilliance that it’s hard not to admire what she’s crafted here. But beyond worrying about if certain lines were written by her or Baumbach, or complaining that the feminism doesn’t go far enough, or even for it’s criticism of Mattel, the company still had to sign off on it—it’s still incredible this movie existsandwas as successful as it was. This is a film that manages to explore the conflicting ideals of what Barbie means, while also making patriarchy (and how stupid it inherently is) the primary villain. Gerwig has always been outstanding at telling beautiful and daring stories, and she’s managed to do that, while also bringing a larger commentary to this iconic toy—in a film told from the viewpoint of a plastic doll.
It’s easy to be cynical about a film likeBarbie, a film that has at least partially been made to sell toys and even makes Mattel a part of the actual story. ButBarbieis also an example of how getting the right people behind an unusual idea can make something truly beautiful come out of it, much likeThe Lego MovieorThe Social Networkbefore it. Gerwig has created a film that takes Barbie, praises its contribution as an idea to our world, but also criticizes its faults, while also making a film that celebrates being a woman and all the difficulties and beauty that includes. This also manages to be a film that feels decidedly in line with Gerwig’s previous films as she continues her streak as one of the most exciting filmmakers working today.Barbiecould’ve just been a commercial, but Gerwig makes this life of plastic into something truly fantastic.
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is an impressive feat, adapting the unadaptable into a hilarious and surprising emotional experience.
