When I saw the first trailer for “Barbie,” I spent more time cringing with a few choice chuckles at the antics displayed.
But, when the time came, naturally, I took my mom to see it with me and honestly spent more time laughing at the realism portrayed by the human characters.
I do have to warn you if you’re expecting something that’s chock full of vapid hot-pink consumerism – this isn’t the movie for you.
It’s also not really geared towards children due to a good portion of the dialogue and concepts that will fly completely over their heads – not because of the overall content.
Barbie is a fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig and written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.
The movie is based on the Barbie fashion dolls by Mattel.
It is the first live-action Barbie film after numerous computer-animated direct-to-video and streaming television films.
The film stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken and follows the two on a journey of self-discovery following an existential crisis.
It also features an ensemble cast that includes America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Helen Mirren, and Will Ferrell.
Rated PG-13 for suggestive references and brief language, the film clocks in at 114 minutes long.
Stereotypical Barbie “Barbie” (Robbie) and a wide range of fellow Barbies all reside in Barbieland, a matriarchal society where all women are self-confident, self-sufficient, and successful.
While their Ken counterparts spend their days engaging in recreational activities at the beach, the Barbies hold a variety of job positions such as doctors, lawyers, authors, and politicians.
Beach Ken (Gosling) is only happy when he is with Barbie and seeks a closer relationship, but Barbie rebuffs him in favor of independence and female friendships.
During a dance party, Barbie is suddenly stricken with worries about mortality.
The next day, she finds she can no longer complete her usual routine, discovers her feet have gone flat and she has cellulite.
The other Barbies don’t know what’s going on with her and tell her to go see Weird Barbie – an outcast and disfigured Barbie that was played with too roughly by a human child.
Weird Barbie (McKinnon) tells her that to cure her affliction she must travel into the real world and find the child playing with her to close the rift between their worlds.
On her way to the real world, Barbie finds Ken stowed away in her convertible and reluctantly allows him to join her.
Arriving at Venice Beach, the two get involved in multiple mishaps and are arrested, alarming the Mattel CEO (Ferrell), who orders their capture.
Barbie tracks down her owner, a tween girl named Sasha (Greenblatt), who criticizes her for encouraging unrealistic beauty standards.
Distraught, Barbie soon discovers that Gloria (Ferrera) - a Mattel employee and Sasha’s mother – is actually the catalyst of her existential crisis.
Gloria admits that she began playing with Sasha’s Barbie toys while experiencing her own identity crisis, inadvertently transferring her concerns to Barbie and creating the rift.
Gloria and Sasha rescue Barbie from Mattel’s CEO and his subordinates, and the three travel together to Barbieland to try and return everything to normal.
Honestly, I don’t understand the review bombs this flick is getting, but I think it offers everyone a chance to explore the meaning behind Barbie and how she’s viewed on a cultural level.
Plus, there are several hilarious dance numbers and songs to enjoy!
