A Review
It's no "Oppenheimer," but the live-action "Barbie" movie is absolutely splendid. Not so much a literal Barbie movie as it is a semi-meta social commentary and farce of what a Barbie movie would be, Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" is one of the most outside-the-box (no pun intended) major motion pictures of the year. It's ironic how many movies take something inspired and turn it into a product, while this one takes a product and turns it into something inspired.
When it comes to movies about dolls experiencing existential dread, the "Toy Story" franchise pretty much has all the bases covered. But "Barbie" is so wacky, so unapologetic about playing by its own rules that it rebukes almost any comparison to any other even remotely similar film. It proudly marches to the beat of its own drum.
Huge props to the production and costume designers on this movie. You can tell WB spared no expense to create this live-sized Barbie Dreamhouse world that the movie so gleefully immerses itself in. Some of the movie's funniest moments are the ones that laugh at the physics that apply when playing with Barbies and these plastic playgrounds in real life. I did find the humor very hit or miss, with gags ranging from clever to just juvenile and obvious, but more jokes landed than didn't.
That said, "Barbie" isn't perfect. The story does feel overbooked with characters, like the mother and daughter from the human world who get sucked into Barbie's. I didn't identify with either of them or think they were very interesting. By the end I felt like they only crowded the movie. Also, it gets so caught up being as zany and surreal as possible that it never stops long enough to allow you to take in what it's saying about gender and culture, and to fully comprehend all its messages which there are A LOT of. At least until the very last few minutes when you have to digest them all at once. Like the toy it's based on, "Barbie" is trying to be everything, to and for everyone.
This movie is way smarter, deeper, and better than you would anticipate something based on toy line would be. It's not "The LEGO Movie" great, but it's good. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling really make an ideal Barbie and Ken, and there's some standout supporting work from Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, and Will Ferrell. Noah Baumbach wrote a really funny but also thoughtful script that does more than plug for Mattel. Let's hope J. J. Abrams' Hot Wheels movie is as well done.