“Barbie” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@RMediavilla) #BarbieMovie
To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken. Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.
With “Barbie” without a doubt being the most anticipated movie of the summer and an absolutely killer marketing camping by Warner Bros behind it, a superb cast lead by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, and Greta Gerwig at the helm and co-written with Netflix’s Marriage Story’s Noah Baumbachm this project had all the marking to be a box office hit, and while only time will tell if these statements are all true, I for one can only praise it even higher after coming out of my screening.
Story-wise the movie shines, and the trailer and promos only give you enough to spark your curiosity about what could this movie be all about. But believe me when I tell you the movie is not what everything expects it to be. This movie is not a full-blown commercial for maybe one of Mattel’s most famous products if anything is a satire of what its most famous product Barbie stands for and how it has evolved in pop culture throughout the times. The story is all about how both Barbie and Ken have an existential crisis when they release that their perfect world is not as it seems when they come face to face with the real world. And this is when the story behind the movie truly shines because that’s when the social commentary behind the reality woman has to face in a male-dominated world and it hits both Barbie and Ken what they really stand for.
Yes, the story is full of feminist arguments that whether we like it or not, with real truthful arguments of where they stand in society today. But at the same time, the story carries a strong message of self-love and self-acceptance that will resonate with everyone. And both Greta and Noah do this in a script that is very funny as it handles these subjects in a matter that is both ironically funny but truthful at the same time. To the point that you constantly see yourself nodding at the lines and telling yourself, yup that’s so true. Meaning that in no way is the story trying to sound preachy or boring or even pushy with their argument. The story always points out the obvious in a very entertaining way. And if we add the musical element and choreography behind these we have a little bit of everything of everyone to enjoy.
Performance wise everyone shines but clearly Ryan Gosling stands out. Ryan Gosling’s character development is everything in this movie as we see him going from happy-in-love Ken to patriarchy-driven Ken. Gosling put out one of the best performances of his career and it wouldn’t surprise me if it lands him a Best Actor nod once award season comes about. Margot Robbie was born to play Barbie, she is an in real-life Barbie, yet she did an amazing at giving new meaning to the Barbie we know and grew up with, We see the changes in her demeanor and in even in her physical state as the story develops. Kate McKinnon as weird Barbie literally feels as if her character was the most grounded one, as if giving a nod to the statement that what makes you unique clearly helps you stand out. Simu Liu has overly competitive Ken was great. The Dua Lipa and Joh Cene pairing as Mermaid Barbie and Marman Ken added another comedic touch to the story. Issa Rae as President Barbie added another layer to the story. America Ferrera has an emotional scene where her character has this feminist-driven speech that stood out to me by the end of the movie, and her mother-daughter relationship within the core of the story also added another layer to this already amazing story-driven movie.
It would be unfair to leave out the outstanding work done by the production design time. From the set designers, makeup, wardrobe, and hairstyle all did a superb job of bringing to life the Barbie world. Production designers and set designers did a superb job at looking a the source material basically replicating what the toys look like, the plasticky textures and all as if they were taken out from the toy cardboard box and placed just as they were made the movie set. The makeup, wardrobe, and hairstyle team did a superb job as bring all these Barbies and Kens to life. From a technical aspect, It honestly would not surprise me one bit if all these people get nods in their respective categories coming award season.
“Barbie” in my book is the definition of a perfect movie. Masterful storytelling and production design, impeccable performances by the whole cast. A movie that everyone should go see not only because of the name and the impact of the doll in pop culture but more importantly because of the strong message the story brings.
