Movie Review: Barbie (2023)

Barbie (2023) co-written and directed by Greta Gerwig

Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) lives in Barbieland in her dream house with her dream life of dressing up, going to the beach, and having a girls' night every night. The same routine keeps happening until one day she has a thought about death. And she gets a touch of cellulite. And she has a feeling she can't quite describe but it is not a positive feeling. In a fit of desperation, she goes to visit Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon). Weird Barbie has chopped hair, odd clothes, marker on her face, and loves to do splits. She is more aware of her reality--that she is a doll and that the girl who plays with her has decided to cut her hair, write on her, and put her in awkward physical positions. Stereotypical Barbie's owner is having problems in the real world that are reaching between worlds. Weird Barbie tells Barbie she has to go through the rip in between the two realities and help out her owner. Barbie is very reluctant but agrees to go alone. Ken (Ryan Gosling), who is a bit clueless and purposeless but loves Barbie, hides in the back seat of her convertible and tags along for the trip to the real world. Of course, the real world isn't filled with empowered and safe Barbies who do all the work. Barbie experiences what it is like to be a woman in our reality, which is a bit of a shock. Also, she finds a lot of people who have less than flattering opinions of her, including the executive board at Mattel. The journey becomes a time of growth for her as she finds her owner and has to deal with a lot of challenges, both in the real world and in the Barbie world.

The movie is visually amazing. Barbieland is all plastic and pastel, with an ocean that's plastic waves (so no real swimming or surfing) and medicine that works instantly and non-invasively. They have food items but don't really eat (Barbie is caught off guard when she drinks from a real-world cup and it has liquid in it!). They party all the time with the only conflicts ever being the Kens trying to impress the Barbies, sometimes the same Barbie causing a bit of jealousy. They have impressive dance numbers and an idyllic life. The movie starts with a spoof of the 2001: A Space Odyssey opening and has plenty of other little nods to other films. Visually, the movie is great.

The movie is fairly honest about the history of Barbie. Barbieland is filled with every Barbie ever made, including all the careers, skin tones, outfits (well, maybe not all the outfits), and nationalities she's had in the past sixty-plus years. The same with Ken. The other dolls show up but are less numerous (Skipper, Alan, etc.). In the real world, people have very different attitudes about Barbie. The corporate execs are constantly looking at the financial bottom line; a mom has fond but fading memories; a daughter has disgust at the superficial impossible standards implied by Barbie dolls. 

The biggest flaw in the film is its assumption of superficial relationships, divisions, and competitiveness between men and women. In Barbieland, all and only women are in charge, the Kens are just accessories suitable for little more than meeting at the beach. The Kens have almost no intelligence and do nothing other than swoon over Barbies. The Gosling Ken is smitten enough to try and help Barbie though his efforts have a negative impact overall. Once they get to the real world, things are flipped--all and only men are in charge at Mattel and the world in general, though at least there are female teachers and assistants (no employed (or even employable) males in Barbieland). Gosling Ken takes the idea of patriarchy back to Barbieland and tries to take over. It makes for some conflict that is resolved by returning to the matriarchal status quo. Barbie ultimately admits she has no interest in Ken and goes her separate way. The movie has no substantive female and male cooperation or even interest in working together. The sexes remain divided even to the end. I found it very disappointing, especially when it seemed like they would bond over love of horses. The undertone made the film less enjoyable for me.

Mildly recommended--this is an entertaining film but take no formation from it.