Barbie
Year: 2023
Rating: PG-13
Length: 114 minutes / 1.90 hours
I’ll admit that the only reason I watched Barbie (2023) was because Greta Gerwig directed it. I loved her style in Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019). Going into Barbie, I was prepared for a full commentary on feminism, especially through the lens of the “perfect woman” that so many girls grew up with. And while the casting was flawless, there still felt like moments where Barbie could have gone deeper with the subject matter but declined due to pressure from Mattel. Its writing was smart and snappy, but it’s also a movie about a beloved childhood toy.
Of course, a lot of Barbie wouldn’t work if the cast was different. Margot Robbie is the epitome of the classic Barbie look. Ryan Gosling gnaws on the scenery and almost steals the show (thus enforcing the patriarchy, ironically enough). Other standout performances go to Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, and America Ferrera. That there are two movies about a beloved childhood toy with Will Ferrell as the “business antagonist” is weird enough, but it definitely works for him. It definitely seemed like everyone had a lot of fun making this movie, and it shows.
It’s also interesting how The LEGO Movie (2015) and Barbie become self-aware that they are toys used by children to live out creative fantasies. However, Barbie has a bit more baggage (figuratively and literally) to unpack. Discussing the unfairness of the patriarchy is a heavy burden, and Barbie handles it well at a surface level. Because, ultimately, a pithy plan to distract men and abolish the patriarchy can work in a made-up world like the Barbie universe—but not in the real world. And maybe that’s why I’m a little disappointed. I expected a scathing solution to the systemic problem to come from Greta Gerwig, but the movie ends up playing it safe.
A well-cast, well-written lens through which to examine feminist problems, I give Barbie 4.0 stars out of 5.
