Unless you are living literally under a rock, you must have heard about Barbie. Whether it’s the doll or this film, or maybe you have heard or even participated in the Barbenheimer (the event where you watched both this film and Oppenheimer (2023, my review here), the same day/weekend they came out), it was impossible to escape the campaign behind this film. And, based on it crossing one billion dollars (at least by Monday, 7th of August when this review comes out), it worked. And you might have even heard many different opinions from most young people saying this is a masterpiece to a surprising (?) amount of mainly older men complaining about how “woke” this film is. Is it really that woke? And what is woke anyway? We don’t use this word in this mojo dojo casa house blog. 😉

The truth is, Barbie is a clever film that knows precisely what it wants to say, says it and lets you decide whether you like it. Greta Gerwig delivered and made a movie that’s the best possible outcome for a film about the best-selling doll in the world. She showcased her cinephile side with references to a plethora of movies from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Matrix (1999) or Grease (1978), and they all make sense within the film without feeling forced or out of place. I also loved how everything in Barbieland felt over-the-top and plastic-like, and then we went to the real world, which felt so mundane compared to it. That seems like an obvious detail, but when we learn how the Barbieland works and why it looks the way it does, it makes even more sense, and it’s those little things that make this world come to life. Nothing in this movie is “just because”. Everything, every prop, every set, has its purpose. It would have been so easy to put things together “because that’s what we associate with Barbie” and for no other reason, but no. This movie not only justifies everything; it gives us brief history lessons on many items and other dolls many have forgotten about. Like Allan. Poor guy.

Despite its star-studded cast, this movie is never overtaken by any side character (not even Allan, even though his scenes were hilarious and Michael Cera was born to play him), and both leads shine. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are both perfect in their respective roles and what’s better is that they are perfect for entirely different reasons.

Margot plays her Barbie with sincerity and earnestness and is so naturally funny that it’s impossible for you not to fall in love with her even more. I presume we are all Margot Robbie fans? Yes, great, that’s good. Anyway, talk about a delicate balance between being sincere and overacting, especially when playing a doll. But Margot nailed it; she found “the line” where she never once overacts or overreacts; she… is Barbie. And her vulnerability towards the end… I will address it soon, but that’s why you had to have somebody with her acting chops in this role. Bravo.

Ryan Gosling understood the assignment. His Ken is not just “kenough”; he is way more than that. His Ken goes from this delusional “puppy” to the other extreme, which is patriarchal macho bro dude. Funny how that in no way, shape or form mimics the real world and addresses actual issues; nah, it’s just a doll movie. Nothing to see in this performance, so let’s move along. Except, of course, we won’t because on top of him being effortlessly funny, he gives this performance everything, and then some, we could sympathize with Ken, even when he acts like a douche. I know the Academy hates giving nominations for comedic roles (for whatever reason), so I, unfortunately, don’t expect either Ryan or Margot to get nominated, but they would both deserve it. And that’s something I didn’t expect to write about Barbie.

For the majority of the film, I was unsure of my rating. I knew I liked the movie, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t sure where I would ultimately land, and that was true until the last 10/15 minutes of the film. Then the film hit me “in the feels” just right, where we see how much of a love letter this movie is to all women everywhere. Margot gives it her all and sells you everything that ending needs and then some. But, and this is a major but – the ending doesn’t omit man, on the contrary. I have noticed this “trend” where mainly people on the right side of political view believe this movie is heavily feminist and hates men. To all those people, I just have one simple question. Did you even finish the film? Without going into spoilers, the movie is quite clear about the treatment of all the Kens, and I didn’t think it was disrespectful at all. Oh yeah, and the treatment of Allan, can’t forget about him, poor guy.

I also loved the America Ferrera storyline involving her daughter, Ariana Greenblatt. Not only did they have a believable mother/daughter dynamic on the screen but their story was a vital part of this film and the overall end. I am also simply happy to see America Ferrera succeed; she has been “just famous enough” for ages now, and with Barbie‘s success, I hope this will help her become a household name. She has the acting chops and seems like a good person overall, so I wouldn’t mind if she had more power in Hollywood.

The one tiny negative I had with this film (and this is purely “me problem” that might go away on repeat viewings) – I expected it to be funnier. Many people praised this film for being hilarious, and while yes, there are some great moments. But more often than not, I found the jokes just “ok”. I think I truly laughed maybe three to four times. The highlight was that I was the only one in my cinema who laughed at the “Zack Snyder cut of Justice League” joke. But again, this is only a minor gripe; my sense of humour is just different, so I can’t blame the film for that. I would much rather praise this film for what it is – a love letter to all women, a movie with a great message of tolerance. It is also about staying true to yourself and how your identity shouldn’t be defined by others. And, of course, about Allan! That poor guy.

Overall, Barbie delivered on the massive hype surrounding it, and I had a blast with it. I still don’t know how it became such a success, but I honestly don’t care because I am happy for Greta, Margot, Ryan, America… the list goes on and on. It’s a clever movie with a few funny jokes here and there, but most importantly, it’s a film that might touch you (appropriately). I wonder how much this will be remembered during next year’s Oscars, especially for both our leads; it would be a cherry on top of this pink cake. That’s the ultimate sign of how great this movie is, that fans discuss (in all honesty) whether or not the leads could get nominated for the Oscar… for a film about a doll! Greta truly worked her magic and showed us we are all “kenough”, even Allan.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke