Most female movie fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of “Barbie,” and that moment has finally arrived! As you might have anticipated, I was never into Barbie, and, if my older sister ever was, I was oblivious to it. Nevertheless, I accompanied Robin and my youngest son, Noah, to see it on opening weekend. It’s obviously a women’s picture, but co-writers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have written an interesting screenplay that has some depth and is, at times, very funny.
Barbie (the even more beautiful Margot Robbie) is living happily in Barbieland, along with her sort-of boyfriend, Ken (Ryan Gosling). Robbie is the “stereotypical” Barbie and there are numerous other Barbies and Kens populating the place.
One day, Barbie starts thinking about dying and mentions this to other Barbies. They all freak out. It turns out there is a tear in the fabric separating the real world from Barbieland. Barbie has been receiving thoughts and feelings from a human, Gloria (America Ferrera). Barbie is suddenly in an existential crisis. She travels, with Ken tagging along, to the real world to try to understand herself and discover her destiny. When she gets there, she learns the real world is a patriarchy – unlike Barbieland, where the women run the show. Barbieland is visually stunning (thanks to cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto), and the costume designs are also amazing (by Jacqueline Durran). Essentially, the film is about consolidating one’s identity as well as gender roles and society’s prescription of worth.
Unfortunately, although about 30 minutes are interesting and fun, the other 90 are slow and not very entertaining. It will work fine as a rental, but I’d be in no hurry to see it, unless Barbie was an important childhood role model for you. If you decide to see it, however, you’ll be “in the pink” for a while!
Most female movie fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of "Barbie," and that moment has finally arrived! As you might have anticipated, I was never into Barbie, and, if my older sister ever was, I was oblivious to it. Nevertheless, I accompanied Robin and my youngest son, Noah, to see it on opening weekend. It's obviously a women's picture, but co-writers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have written an interesting screenplay that has some depth and is, at times, very funny. Barbie (the even more beautiful Margot Robbie) is living happily in Barbieland, along with her sort-of boyfriend, Ken (Ryan Gosling). Robbie is the "stereotypical" Barbie and there are numerous other Barbies and Kens populating the place. One day, Barbie starts thinking about dying and mentions this to other Barbies. They all freak out. It turns out there is a tear in the fabric separating the real world from Barbieland. Barbie has been receiving thoughts and feelings from a human, Gloria (America Ferrera). Barbie is suddenly in an existential crisis. She travels, with Ken tagging along, to the real world to try to understand herself and discover her destiny. When she gets there, she learns the real world is a patriarchy – unlike Barbieland, where the women run the show. Barbieland is visually stunning (thanks to cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto), and the costume designs are also amazing (by Jacqueline Durran). Essentially, the film is about consolidating one’s identity as well as gender roles and society’s prescription of worth. Unfortunately, although about 30 minutes are interesting and fun, the other 90 are slow and not very entertaining. It will work fine as a rental, but I'd be in no hurry to see it, unless Barbie was an important childhood role model for you. If you decide to see it, however, you'll be "in the pink" for a while!
Barbie: A “Who Am I?” Comedy
Barbie: A “Who Am I?” Comedy
2023-07-28
David
Occasionally Funny and Interesting, But Often Slow
User Rating : No Ratings Yet !
7
