Barbie

5 outta 5

Barbie is a licensed toy adaptation that both celebrates yet, at times quite savagely, parodies the toy brand it is based on. There was always a slightly unsettling, too perfect vibe about Barbie’s world which this movie uses for great effect. The performances are all hilarious with some little snippets of humanity amongst all the fantastic life in plastic. It also breezes along with a funny and absurdist tone with lots of cinematic influences and existential dread mashed into a fuzzy pink package.

Barbie (Margot Robbie) lives in Barbie Land with lots and lots of other Barbies like President Barbie (Issa Rae), Writer Barbie (Alexandra Shipp) and Doctor Barbie (Hari Nef). She is unabashedly loved by Ken (Ryan Gosling) who constantly butts heads with other Kens like a beach dwelling Ken (Simu Liu), or yet another beach dwelling Ken (Kingsley Ben-Adir). And there’s also Ken’s buddy Allan (Michael Cera) that nobody cares about. Shockingly, Barbie’s Dream House starts malfunctioning and she begins feeling existential dread about fear of death. The Barbies send her to Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), who says Barbie must journey to the real world and find the person that is influencing her. Tagging along is Ken and both bumble into trouble immediately upon arriving, drawing the attention of the Barbie’s manufacturer and the head of Mattel toys (Will Ferrell). Barbie finds the person influencing her, a Mattel employee, Gloria (America Ferrera) and her daughter, Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), so they venture back to Barbie’s world. But Ken has seen the powerful patriarchy in the real world and is now extending his control on Barbie Land.

The look of the Real and Barbie world is visually unique. The offices of Mattel are faceless grey cubicles which is impressive Mattel let that pass. Heck, Mattel’s CEO and his goons are basically bad guys which is fairly subversive for an official film. Farrell’s CEO is a petulant adult that screams Barbie is going to screw up his world while Farrell providing funny asides. The jaunt between Barbie Land and the Real World is by using Barbie’s trademark car, boat and spaceship vehicles in a funny visual. The design of Barbie Land is fantastic, it looks exactly like the plastic playsets as people walk on water (because it’s not water, it’s plastic) and no liquid comes out of the glasses. When Barbie in the real world finds water in her glass, she’s shocked.

Robbie’s Barbie is labeled “Stereotypical Barbie” and in one of the various self-aware moments, Barbie says she’s “Stereotypical Barbie” because she is what someone would think of when they “think of a Barbie”. She’s a cheerful yet vacuous Barbie but when she suddenly falls into an existential crisis, her entire worldview is flipped. Robbie shows Barbie herself is even confused at her sudden pronouncements of “You ever think about dying?” There’s a bit when Barbie comes face to face with the cynical teenager Sasha and the teenagers tear a strip off her, calling Barbie a “fascist” which is hilariously mean. Ferrera as the Mattel worker that is unwillingly influencing Barbie’s life has some great reactions to what she sees in Barbie Land.

As Ken, Gosling goes through quite a surprising character arc, slowly becoming a Machiavellian manipulator. His introduction to patriarchy in the real world causes him to give Barbie Land a vigorous makeover that warps it to a world for himself and his Ken bros. There’s a whole bit about the Kens performing the song “Push” which comes off as extremely controlling. The Kens even engage in all out war against each other in a bizarrely over the top battle of beach toys and glitter. Even when they’re at war, they can’t still help being stylish Kens. Cera as Allan, the often-forgotten Ken buddy, is hilariously dismissed every time. He has a moment when he freaks out and reveals that the Allans can be anywhere, even that NSYNC is all Allans.

There are some great gags throughout, like a bit about (totally legitimate!) discontinued Barbies. There’s a Barbie with a TV in its back, or Sugar Daddy Ken (the dog is Sugar, and he’s its Daddy), or a Pregnant Midge doll that just makes everyone feel weird. Another hilarious moment is when Ken is supposed to be doing something important but instead he sings a song about himself. Director and co-writer Greta Gerwig puts in some neat cinematic references, like a 2001: A Space Odyssey style opening scene with kids smashing baby dolls. Even a (genuinely emotional) third act chat takes place in a white void like the climax of 2001. There are fun moments of absurdity too, like when Barbie collapses into a funk there’s an ad for “Depression Barbie”, or how when Ken sees the world of patriarchy, he sees a vision of Sylvester Stallone in a fur coat as the ultimate male. The character climax of the film has Barbie talking with an elderly woman played by Rhea Pearlman which delves deep into whom Barbie wants to be. The last line of the movie is a great, silly, puerile punchline yet appropriate for where Barbie finds herself.

Barbie is a very silly absurdist film that has moments of emotion that is funnier and sharper than expected. By showing her the real world it changes Barbies and Kens forever, making Barbie bend her plastic Barbie world into something new.