24.7.23
“We sell dreams, imagination, and sparkle…and when you think of sparkle, what do you think of next? Female agency.”
Barbie is one of the funniest and most socially acute films of the year. It also gets bonus points from me for being a fantastic cinema experience at a raucous weekend showing in Camden. Naturally, it portrays a candy-floss world of subversion, where every pink artifice is both an ideal and a self-aware commentary on our Westernised consumerist culture.
Greta Gerwig has directed the source material with flair, and clearly has an exacting understanding of the line between embracing and parodying the character’s legacy within the Mattel framework which we are sure to see for years to come on the big screen. I have to give credit where it’s due because I’ve really not been a fan of her or writer Noah Baumbach’s work over the years.
Ryan Gosling is frankly, fucking hilarious as the vacant yet good-natured Ken, eliciting delight with his oblivious line deliveries and keen commitment to the role’s inherent absurdity. The audience at my screening practically laughed every time he appears on the screen, even before opening his mouth. It’s akin to his comedy performance in The Nice Guys but turned up to eleven. He nearly steals the film if not for the perfectly cast Margot Robbie; she channels Barbie with grace and surprising nuance, and her journey frequently subverts expectations, veering into wild tangents and surprising directions.
The storyline explores relevant themes of women’s societal positioning and gender inequality through Robbie’s inspiring assertions and emotional releases. Whimsical dance numbers underscore the film’s self-awareness, such as the fantastically energised ‘Dance the Night’ sequence. While shamelessly upbeat in tone, the film also carries a sincere emotional weight at its core, with Barbie’s desire for independence and pursuit of self-definition sure to resonate with many viewers. I think most kids below teenage years may not understand what’s going on, and it’s sure to rub a certain breed of men up the wrong way but that’s not an issue for me and most adult cinema-goers.
While highly saturated in bubblegum shades, Barbie has many cerebral and eye-opening issues for us to consider regarding modern femininity. It’s the rare type of accomplished film that is funny, subversive and visually dazzling without being deemed as ‘arthouse’ or pretentious. A true meta film that both pays tribute to and slyly comments on an iconic cultural symbol.