Published by Mason Oldridge, 31 July 2023
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling lead a star-studded cast in this summer’s blockbuster, breaking box office records as one half of the Barbenheimer phenomenon.
The plot sees Barbie and Ken leave Barbieland to visit the real world in order to help Barbie with her recent existential crisis. Upon Ken’s discovery of patriarchy, he turns Barbieland into one, leaving Barbie and her real world companions to team up with the other Barbies to reclaim their world.
The film is undeniably entertaining with excellent casting. Robbie is a perfect choice for the titular character and Ryan Gosling steals the show with his hilarious portrayal of Ken, particularly in the early scenes such as when Barbie rejects him and his failed attempt to surf. Will Ferrell is an unexpected but brilliant choice for the CEO of Mattel and Michael Cera is great with his trademark extrovert character as Allan. The set design of Barbieland is top notch, there are some great musical numbers, with Gosling’s performance of I’m Just Ken being the standout, and there is some genius comedy, notably the limitations of the dolls and Ken’s role of Beach as well as poking fun at the brand’s shortcomings such as the lack of purpose of Allan. Other funny moments include when Ken believes he can obtain a job simply due to being male and the Ken dance scene.
Surprisingly, the blockbuster has generated controversy, though it soon becomes apparent why. The film’s portrayal of the real world as a patriarchy is an outdated and unrealistic representation of today’s society. Mattel’s male-only executive board is ridiculous as no organisation today would have no female representation at senior level. At least in Barbieland, the characters recognise and acknowledge the gender imbalance they are inhabiting and rectify this, though this is not repeated in the real world as expected. Furthermore, Gloria’s speech may be empowering, but preaching about female expectations in society to today’s audience feels too late as if calling for a female revolution that has already happened and pushes feminist ideology too strongly.
While the film deserves praise for appealing to an older audience, it is too philosophical given it uses a children's doll brand as a vehicle to convey its message. Its themes of self-worth and body confidence sees the film adopt a darker tone than expected, contrasting the pink aesthetic, and the ending in which Barbie becomes a real person ruins the consistency of how the two worlds differ.
Overall, the film excels in characters, set design and comedy, though its themes feel forced to align with wokeism which casts a disappointing shadow over the end product.
7/10