I took in the Barbie last night and safe to say I wasn’t sure what to expect. The movie on the whole was good but strangely it wasn’t Barbie that made the impression on the sold out crowd it was Ken, well Ryan Gosling’s Ken. The movie definitely hits home feminist messages throughout while working as a social satire. The movie doesn’t shy away from the fact that while Barbie’s are inherently beautiful and now come in all shapes, sizes and careers they have at times caused negative feelings in those who played with them.
The movie centres around “Stereotypical” Barbie, played by Margot Robbie as she develops an existential crisis and needs to leave the perfect Barbie Land to go to the real world to fix it, as a stowaway Ken played by Gosling joins her.
Margot Robbie as the “Stereotypical” Barbie plays her role well but gets outshined by Gosling’s Ken performance every step of the way and he had myself and the crowd laughing at every turn. Michael Cera who am I not normally a fan of was good in his role of Allan, while Will Ferrell had some moments as the Mattel CEO, but his role was a lot small than I thought it would be.
The movie at times goes to different places but never really can solidify the moment and feels like certain points are rushed and don’t get flushed out despite the near 2 hour run time. Maybe an extra 15-30 mins would’ve flushed out the plot points and develop characters better while keeping the message the same. It would allow the audience the ability to really connect with characters that are there but you don’t really get to know the way you should and would keep it from the 3 hour club we are seeing from most films these days. That’s all the detail I can go into without possibly spoiling the movie. I am upset no Aqua’s “Barbie World.”
Overall like I said it was a good film that could be great. It definitely will appeal to ladies and girls who are already flocking to or planning to flock to the film, but it is entertaining enough that guys who get dragged their by wives and girlfriends won’t mind it. There are some adult jokes especially the ending parents may have to explain to the kids. It won’t be anyone’s movie of the year but still a solid outing by co-writer (written with Noah Baumbach) and director Greta Gerwig.
Grade 7.5/10
Here is the trailer:
– Everett
