Barbie
Not since The Lego Movie has a film sounded like such a bad idea when it was first announced, but then turned out to be such an unexpected joy from start to finish. Not only is this live-action Barbie movie a razor-sharp, surreal comedy that’s laugh-out-loud funny throughout, but it’s also surprisingly poignant in places and has far more depth that you may have been expecting.
Premise: Barbie (Margot Robbie) lives a carefree life in Barbieland with all of the other Barbies and Kens, where every day is the best day ever. But when she suffers an existential crisis that begins to make her question her place in the universe, she and her boyfriend Ken (Ryan Gosling) decide the travel to the Real World to find out what’s causing her inner conflict.
Review:
Let’s face it – there have been very few great films based on a toy range. In fact, you could argue that The Lego Movie (and its sequel and spin-off) are at the top of that list, and then there’s not a lot after them. But when The Lego Movie was first announced, it sounded like a cynical, creatively bankrupt, cash-grab … until we learned of the involvement of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who promised to bring something unexpected to the project.
I mention this because I went through a similar thought process when they first announced that they were making a live-action Barbie movie. The (cheap looking) GCI animated Barbie movies and TV shows did not inspire any confidence that a live-action film would be anything other than an extended toy commercial – but then it was announced that the movie was going to be directed and co-written by Greta Gerwig. Yes, that Greta Gerwig, the one who directed and wrote the award-winning films Lady Bird and Little Women. Immediately, I began to suspect that Greta Gerwig would not have taken on a project like this unless she had an interesting take on the material – and then when Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling signed on to play the “main” Barbie and Ken roles in the movie, I knew that something about the script must have captured their imagination. By the time the first trailer hit, I was completely sold.
“…a film aimed at the adults, with enough accessible humour to keep the kids entertained…”
First and foremost, this live-action Barbie movie is incredibly funny, from its opening narration (delivered by Dame Helen Mirren) to its final line. It’s the kind of comedy where every scene is layered with visual gags and quick-fire dialogue that means you’re likely to pick up on different jokes each time you watch the film. It’s also a movie where underneath the surface layer of accessible humour that’s entirely family-friendly, there’s a whole sub-layer of surreal comedy aimed at the adults, to the extent that I suspect that adults will find this a funnier film than kids will. Any film that opens with a parody of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is not really aiming for the pre-teen demographic. In fact, instead of this being a kids film with enough to keep the adults entertained, I’d say this is a film aimed at the adults, with enough accessible humour to keep the kids entertained. Again, not at all what I was expecting from a Barbie movie.
The cast list for this movie is incredible, with cameos from more actors than I can mention. Alongside from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the main incarnations of Barbie and Ken, Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Ncuti Gatwa all stand out as some of the other main versions of Barbie and Ken, while Kate McKinnon steals several scenes as “Weird Barbie”, and the film’s secret weapon may just be Michael Cera as Allan. Each of these performers has a moment to shine, and at least one great comedic scene or line, no matter how limited their screentime may be.
“…went to places I was not expecting it to go…”
Outside of Barbieland, the cast list is no less impressive, with Will Ferrell and America Ferrera playing Mattel employees in the Real World, while Ariana Greenblatt (who continues to build an impressive CV full of interesting roles) plays a tweenage girl who feels she’s outgrown playing with Barbie dolls. This is quite possibly America Ferrera’s best written movie role to date, and she gets to deliver a barnstormer of a scene at the start of the final act, that’s definitely one of the highlights of the movie.
Plotwise, I really don’t want to give too much away, as I think the marketing for this movie did a fantastic job of keeping the direction of the second half of the movie under wraps. Once Barbie and Ken made it to the real world, I really had no idea what to expect from the rest of the movie – and it’s fair to say that (a) it went to places I was not expecting it to go to, and (b) I loved the movie all the more for it.
“…has almost Monty-Python-esque levels of surreal humour at times...”
Watching this movie unfold in unexpected ways was an absolute joy, and this has certainly been one of my cinematic highlights of the year so far. I don’t want to give anyone the impression that this is a “message movie”, as movies that exist purely to convey a “message” can often forget to be entertaining as well – whereas Barbie had me (and the rest of the audience) laughing out loud all the way through the movie. But nevertheless, it is a movie with something to say, and there are some surprisingly emotional, poignant and thought-provoking moments in between the laughs. That said, it’s also a film that has almost Monty-Python-esque levels of surreal humour at times, and even manages to throw in a massive dance battle, as well as a hilarious power ballad from a lead character, for good measure. Again, not at all what I was expecting from a Barbie movie.
Margot Robbie is superb in the lead role, bringing different layers to her performance during the course of the movie. At times, she can be effortlessly funny, but she can also bring the pathos when needed – and a brilliant line delivered by the narrator later on even pokes fun at her beauty during a particularly emotional moment. Ryan Gosling is just as excellent, in what in some ways is an even trickier role, because whereas Robbie’s Barbie is developing and deepening as the film progresses meaning that she has more shades to play, Gosling’s Ken lacks any kind of self-awareness or emotional intelligence, meaning that his performance has to capture that character’s insecure sense of inertia while also still delivering some incredibly deadpan comedic moments.
“…a film that promised little, but delivered more than I could have possibly hoped for...”
All in all, Barbie is one of those rare movies where film students can (if they so wish) discuss and analyse the themes and concepts of the film for years to come, but at the same time, audiences can just sit back, relax, and enjoy a hilarious comedy that is packed full of laughs from beginning to end, performed by a cast that’s at the top of their game, and featuring one of the best original soundtracks of the year. It’s a film that promised little, but delivered more than I could have possibly hoped for.
