Here we have the 2023 sensation Barbie, written and directed by husband and wife team Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. This was the biggest film of the year, with an all-star cast headed up by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
It’s a darkly satirical comedy film, a live-action version, that explores a stereotypical Barbie’s quest for enlightenment, challenging the patriarchy and an army of dim-witted Kens along the way.
An Existential Crisis in the World of Barbie
Right, so the plot follows the life of Barbies living in a matriarchal society in a world away from our real life (kind of in a separate dimension). The Barbies life with half-witted Kens, plus a bunch of discontinued models that are viewed as undesirables.
The Barbie world is supposed to be perfect, with stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) the embodiment of female beauty and glorious day-to-day existence. Their days are spent dancing the being perfect. Like this!
Ken (the Ryan Gosling one) is competing with other Kens to win over stereotypical Barbie. However, their world doesn’t seem to have any concept of what physical intimacy is and so he’s continuously turfed to one side.
Then stereotypical Barbie starts having an existential crisis.
She visits Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), a social outcast after excessive exuberant play from a child, who tells her to visit the real human world and work out why she’s having the crisis. Ken stows away with her to try and win her hand.
After they reach the real world, two things happen:
- Stereotypical Barbie gets heckled a lot and finds the overbearingly sexist real world stressful
- Ken finds the patriarchal society exactly to his liking and begins expecting stuff in return for simply for being a man (i.e. male entitlement)
It’s a great set up for a film and one we’re pleased such a concept got greenlit as a major blockbuster. It’s just we think the ultimate execution (despite a strong script) often falls flat.
Barbie is a bit heavy-handed with its concept. This is good and bad, the good being it goes for the jugular and savages silly male privilege. The bad is this is presented in quite a simplistic way, that can also be a little overbearing, meaning adults steeped in feminist theory may find it a little obvious.
This is a PG-13, though, so as far as we’re concerned it’s a film aimed at girls and young women. In the way Michael Bay makes films for boys, Great Gerwig is making films to inspire girls. And that’s fabulous.
It does mean, for us at 41, we found the film a bit disappointing. It’s a 3/5 type deal, but probably as we’d get more out of it if we were the target audience.
Barbie does have its moments, no doubts, not least with Ryan Gosling on hilarious form as the hapless Ken. There’s an absurd dance number he does really well (“I’m Just Ken”) with great cringeworthy lyrics about him being a 10/10 and all that manosphere stuff.
‘Cause I’m just Ken, anywhere else I’d be a ten,
Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blonde fragility?I’m just Ken,
Where I see love, she sees a friend,
What will it take for her to see the man behind the tan and fight for me?
Here it all is in full, complete with massively OTT production values.
It’s a fast-paced film with plenty of gags and clever concepts, but it’s often dragged down by labouring on its point a little too much. Although it is the most feminist mainstream Hollywood film we think there’s ever been, so that in itself is glorious.
And Barbie is good. Just not great. At 114 minutes, so of its humour does fall a little flat and the film can feel a little awkward at times. But then in the next scene it can land I’m Just Ken on you and it’s a banger again.
Bit of a mixed bag, then, but plenty to enjoy. Especially for younger female viewers, who we think (and hope) found the whole thing hilarious and inspiring.
The Production of Barbie
One of the popular right-wing soundbites (of many) is the tedious “go woke, go broke“. The theory being diversity, inclusivity, and feminism lead to a lack of financial success. Well, Barbie made $1.448 billion at the global box office. In fact, it was the top earning film of 2023.
It beat Oppenheimer, a bunch of superhero films, the latest Mission Impossible, and the Super Mario Bros. Movie (the latter was second on $1.3 billion). Go woke, go broke indeed…
Anyway, despite the film’s financial success, Greta Gerwig has stated she doesn’t want to turn this into another Hollywood franchise. It’s likely to be a standalone film and, we think, that’s for the best. Although we should imagine studio pressure to cash-in will lead to a prequel (or something) eventually.
The concept for a live-action Barbie film had been mulled over since the 1980s.
The idea was renewed in late 2009 by toy manufacturer Mattel, but the project continued to be delayed. In 2016, comedian Amy Schumer almost got the project greenlit, but she dropped out in March 2017 after a disagreement with producers. But things really took off when Australian actor Margot Robbie agreed to the lead Barbie role in 2019.
And, yes, she was cast as she has that conventional blonde and beautiful look. But also because she’s a very good actor, anyone who’s seen I, Tonya (2017) can confirm that.
With Robbie onboard, plus acting as a producer, she approached Greta Gerwig about directing. She agreed, but only on the basis her husband Noah Baumbach be part of the scriptwriting.
Thus, the legacy was complete! And the shoot went ahead on sets adapted for a Palm Springs, mid-century modernist interior design look. HOWEVER! Perhaps surprisingly, the film was shot at Warner Bros’ UK studios in July of 2022. Barbie gives off the whole vibe of a sun-baked American summer but, no, a chunk was filmed in rainy old England.
On a final note, Mattel’s delay on all of this from the 1980s was a massive win.
The film pokes a lot of fun and playful mockery of the nature of Barbie dolls, which seem anachronistic to modern life. Although the company has worked to make them more diverse, inclusive, and empowering over the last decade or so.
Well, the plan worked a treat and global sales of Barbie dolls went up thanks to the film. It’s also done its reputation a lot of good, showing they’re not a bunch of stuffy corporate shills unable to take criticism. If only more businesses could take note.
