Barbie Review: C’mon Barbie Let’s Go Party
Barbiecore hits the theaters and spells international stardom and success.
Today’s guest contributor is Sara Gottfried, a Barbie fan and early adopter of Barbiecore. She’s also my sister. Given that the film is about sisterhood, it’s only fitting that she be here and while I don’t recall having too many Barbies as a kid, I did play with a lot of Sara’s and not necessarily with her permission. My favorite Barbie to this day remains the Peaches N Cream Barbie which debuted in 1984. I’m not even sure why apart from the fact that it was made of peach colored chiffon and very Fallon Carrington Dynasty-esque in its showy glamour.
So with that, let’s give Sara a warm welcome as this is her first jaunt with BEVP.
Sara:
Barbie, the much anticipated movie began its incredible Barbie pink marketing campaign in 2022. Some billboards were simply Barbie Pink (PMS 219 - Pantone color) with the only words featured in the ad being the release date of July 21, showcasing how recognizable that color is.
The film stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken. As of July 26, it has made $470 million globally. It was the biggest opening weekend ever for a film directed by a woman. Through the film, esteemed writer and director Greta Gerwig pays homage to the iconic Barbie brand and brings us on a pink musical journey traveling between perfect Barbieland and the patriarchy of the real world. We even get to see a portrayal of Ruth Handler, Barbie creator, played perfectly by Rhea Pearlman.
Note: There will be some spoilers, but nothing too plot heavy and no ending reveals.
The movie begins in Barbieland, a utopia that is ultra-femme and pink and every day and night is perfect. There are multiple Barbies and Kens, as well as Allan (Michael Cera) and a pregnant doll Midge (Emerald Fennell, creator of Promising Young Woman). Some of the Barbies include “President Barbie”(Issa Rae) and “Mermaid Barbie” (Dua Lipa). The Barbies and Kens are all perfectly styled and enjoy beach activities and dancing.
Barbieland is a matriarchal society where a woman is president and all the Barbies are successful citizens of the society. During a dance party one night, Stereotype Barbie played by Margot Robbie has an existential crisis where she asks if anybody ever thinks of dying and the music stops. Strangeness continues as she experiences a cold shower, falls off her roof, and discovers her feet aren't perfectly high-arched Barbie feet anymore. In an attempt to fix her problems, she travels to Weird Barbie’s house. Weird Barbie (played by Kate McKinnon) is the healer. Her hair and face are colored on with crayons or markers and her hairstyle is unevenly chopped-off. She is also wearing a baby doll dress and seems to be double-jointed as she can fall into a split at any given time. She informs Barbie that the only cure is to travel into the real world and find the owner of her doll because the owner is creating her problems.
Some Reflections & Observations
The Real World begins in Venice, CA which was honestly a bit disappointing for me as it wasn’t Malibu and Malibu is not shown at all in the movie which is a pretty classic Barbie location. Airbnb even capitalized on the movie renting out Barbie’s Malibu DreamHouse.
In the real world, Barbie goes to the school where the teenager who owns her doll is sitting at lunch with her friends. Barbie is happy to see them but confused as to why they don’t love her. The doll owner, Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), tells Barbie she doesn't play with her anymore and she reinforces unrealistic beauty standards for women and is a bimbo. Barbie is shocked and sad.
I found this to be interesting as Barbie has always been a beloved but controversial doll. There are people that do hold the viewpoint of Sasha but it poses a bigger question for me as although the doll was created by a woman, most of the company is run by men which means the narrative has been controlled by men. I think part of toxic masculinity is pitting women against each other because they know we are stronger when we get along and work together as a team.
When Barbie and Ken arrive in the real world, Ken discovers that unlike in Barbieland, here men have the high level/high paying jobs. He also notices themes of horses and working out. He enjoys the attention he gets in the real world and not just as Barbie’s accessory. When Barbie goes to Mattel she discovers that all the leadership positions are held by men. A non-Ken male barbie named Allan is the antithesis of toxic masculinity as he does not enjoy Kendom and is on the side of the Barbies.
The great Will Ferrell plays the CEO of Mattel and is aways a joy to see as he is effortlessly funny. Beth note: I think he was phoning it in a little… He felt like a nicer, less nefarious version of Lord Business from The Lego Movie.
I was also impressed with the singing and dancing of another Canadian actor Simu Liu as I was only familiar with his acting. Another Beth note: Love him in Kim’s Convenience (Netflix), a hilarious comedy about a Korean family in Toronto that owns a convenience store. It’s good fun.
Issa Rae is hilarious. She really made me laugh in this role!
The soundtrack is amazing with Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Sam Smith, Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice..etc….listen on repeat! A Beth note X 3: And yet, the best song of the soundtrack goes to the hauntingly deep and beautiful Barbie ballad from Billie Eilish.
Ryan Gosling as Ken really shines in this part, showcasing his talent and range in acting, playing both dramatic and funny. He also sings and dances throughout the film and as somebody who watched him as a child on The Mickey Mouse Club I always enjoy seeing this (where is his Oscar?). Last Beth note (of this section): Beth here again. Definitely deserved an Oscar for La La Land, which showcased his dramatic acting, singing and dancing. And let’s not even start with his talents in The Notebook.
KEN Things Ryan Gosling Can't Live Without | GQ
Barbie was created in 1959 as a progressive female role model. She held positions that American women had not held yet, such as, President of the United States (the more things change the more they stay the same…). She was a doll that taught little girls to dream as big as their hearts desired. She exemplified that women are multi-dimensional. I personally loved my “Day-to-Night Barbie” who went from a cute pink power suit with skirt, purse, and hat to an evening gown with heels in a New York minute. While I agree that the Barbie doll reinforced unrealistic body image and beauty standards for women and there was definitely a lack of representation with ethnicity, the Barbie brand has changed with the times. The movie, as well as the brand currently, present Barbies with many different ethnicities and body shapes, as well as a trans Barbie (Hari Neff). It shows that every little girl can dream Barbie big!
In conclusion, the movie did not disappoint. The cast is incredible and as a total music dork I appreciate the soundtrack and the musical numbers very much. It is an ultra-femme and camp movie. The high budget on the movie and marketing was worth it! Although I am torn on the ending (especially the shoe choice), I do not think the message will be lost and am happy it is reaching so many people on a global level. Go see it!
Outro
Thanks Sara for your thoughtful review. I don’t know about you, but I think I need to rewatch this film. There’s so much to unpack and it’s so chock full of thought-provoking themes, especially on the hardships of female or male experience. I wasn’t quite expecting that. I also wasn’t expecting to see Margot Robbie (Barbie) cry so much and her tears captured so flawlessly onscreen. Even the narrator played by Helen Mirren pokes fun at how it’s impossible to see Margot as anything less than gorgeous despite Barbie’s thinking that she’s ugly, as the film progresses, and her emotions get richer.
The themes of gender-based utopias, their problematic behaviors, their inequities, and their strengths are top of mind in this film. The film poses the question: Is a life with feeling and meaning in the real world with all that it brings - its disappointment and joy - worth more than being a perfect product or idea in a non-real world? Interspersed with the heavy existential questions, Gerwig and her partner, Baumbach, did a phenomenal job of bringing in dance numbers and funny cultural references to keep a balance there. The result is a multi-layered visual feast of a film which has you pondering on everything that you just took in for a long time. Also, so many Sex Education alumnus here.
The high point for me, amongst a lot of great scenes, was the America Ferrera monologue 3/4 of the way through the film. In it, we see Ferrera’s character, a real world Mattel worker and a mom, fighting to break free of the perfection that she has to live up to and speak truth to all the inherent contradictions women face in their day-to-day lives. For those jonzing for a taste of this, I highly recommend you read an excerpt from this speech below. Gerwig and Ferrera worked on it together via texts.
You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin.
You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass.
You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas.
You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time.
You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people.
You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.
But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line.
It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.
The film has garnered some backlash for being anti-men.
does a good job breaking this down and getting to the heart of the matter. The film does a thorough job of exploring the patriarchy/male vs matriarchy/female context in a positive, sensitive and reflective manner. This is needed in our current times. There’s too much antagonism and opposition leading to cancelling and not enough compassion and listening. Barbie begs us as a culture to dig deeper, accept our flaws, and also be willing to grow and change. There’s no cancelling in Barbieland. Here’s hoping Greta Gerwig is onto something.
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Fantastic review. I’ll be chewing on this movie for a while. Gerwig continues to build an impressive resume with this!
Love this go Sara 💕🌸