The iconic blonde-haired doll known as Barbie is finally brought to the big screen in Greta Gerwig’s pink-tastic dramedy. Gerwig’s adaptation of the doll comes after a long-line of previous attempts with the first live-action Barbie film being announced all the way back in 2009 under Universal Pictures. Margot Robbie stars as the popular doll as well as serving as a producer, with Ryan Gosling taking on the role of Barbie’s lovesick, bleached blonde sidekick Ken.
The film opens on the colourful world of Barbie Land where we are introduced to Stereotypical Barbie (Robbie) and the various other Barbies who live there. The matriarchal society of Barbieland has Barbies holding various important positions in society, from doctors and lawyers, to politicians and the supreme court, while the Kens of Barbie Land spend their days doing various recreational activities. But when Barbie’s gleaming cheer becomes plagued with thoughts of death, and she develops flat feet, she finds herself unable to go about her regular life. Determined to get back to normalcy, Barbie sets off on a quest to the real world to find the person playing with her doll form in the real world. Once in there she finds herself faced with a wave of unfamiliar emotions, while also trying to find the person causing her issues, while Ken (Gosling) becomes enchanted by the patriarchal structure of our society, and also horses. But Barbie’s escape from Barbieland forces executives at Mattel on a manhunt to try and bring Barbie back to Barbie land. What follows is an emotional event that will resonate with women everywhere, while also bringing an entertaining, compelling story about one doll’s big adventure to the real world to the big screen.
Despite the film not requiring the same acting muscles Robbie flexed in films like “Bombshell” or “I, Tonya” but that doesn’t mean the Aussie actress doesn’t deliver a stunning performance. Taking on the titular role, Robbie gives one of the strongest turns of her career as she brings the blonde haired doll to the big screen. Her charming portrayal of Barbie takes audiences on an emotional journey, from tearful emotion to comical humour. America Ferrera shines in her role as Gloria, a Mattel employee who helps Barbie on her journey. The Golden Globe winner doesn’t put a foot wrong throughout the entire time she’s on screen, and delivers one of the most emotional moments of the film with her stirring monologue about the daily struggles women face. The monologue hits a home run with the film’s feminist message, delivering a powerful point about how, in Gloria’s own words, it’s “literally impossible to be a woman”. Ryan Gosling’s portrayal of Ken comes to life with his convincing and lively performance that superbly compliments Robbie’s portrayal of Ken’s female counterpart. Gosling throws himself into the role, not only delivering a consistently hilarious performance, but also providing vocals for one of the songs on the film’s soundtrack “I’m Just Ken”, and engaging in energetic musical numbers. While a large portion of the cast is just different variations of Ken and Barbie (e.g., Simu Liu is Tourist Ken and Issa Rae is President Barbie etc) each performance stands out and refreshingly doesn’t feel like a copy of another.
“Barbie” is a polished two-hour event that is bolstered by its magnificent production aspects. The film is accompanied by a spectacular soundtrack with original songs from some of today’s biggest artists including Ice Spice & Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, and Charli XCX who all create unique and fitting songs that cross a range of genres. Grammy-winner Billie Eilish also provides the film with an emotional original song titled “What Was I Made For” which plays over one of the most moving parts of the film in which a montage of friends and family of the cast and crew is seen to help Barbie understand the womanhood and humanity in the real world. The film immerses audiences into the world of Barbieland with its vibrant production design and set decoration, courtesy of production designer Sarah Greenwood, and her frequent collaborator Katie Spencer, and also Ashley Swanson . Her work on the film allows “Barbie” to be one of the most colourful films of the year whilst transporting audiences into the fantasy world and bringing the iconic Barbie Dreamhouse to the big screen. Jacqueline Durran, who worked with Gerwig on the 2019 film “Little Women”, provides the film with vibrant, spectacular costumes that look like they’ve been plucked directly off real Barbie dolls. Some of the costumes in the film, like Barbie’s eye-catching western outfit, and the neon skating outfits donned by Robbie and Gosling that went viral as one of the first looks at the film, will almost certainly be remembered for years to come, as well as some of the archive Chanel pieces Robbie wears in the film.
“Barbie” marks Greta Gerwig’s fourth outing in the director’s chair following her work on Oscar-nominated films “Lady Bird” and “Little Women”. Gerwig asserts herself as someone who can craft joyful, complex stories that can deeply resonate with audiences, while also drawing remarkable performances out of her actors. Despite being based on a billion-dollar IP, Gerwig still manages to incorporate her own personal experiences with Barbie into the screenplay (which she co-wrote with her partner Noah Baumbach), as well as her own ideas about Barbie and who she is as a person. Their screenplay brilliantly translates to the screen that not only pays homage to the history of Barbie, but is also hilariously self-aware and projects the female experience onto the big screen in a unique way that allows audiences to connect with the film on a level not possible with many films today. “Barbie'' explores a range of themes throughout its two-hour runtime, from dipping into ideas of feminism and the patriarchy/machoism, existentialism and self-worth, as well as lighter themes like family and womanhood.
Perhaps what makes “Barbie” such an enjoyable film stems from the fact that it delves into complex themes present in today’s society, while balancing that with light-hearted comedy without watering down the film’s message. Greta Gerwig brings the happy-go-lucky world to the big screen in a dazzling two-hour film that doesn’t fail to entertain its audiences. Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and America Ferrera each shine in their individual roles with Robbie and Gosling doing impressive jobs bringing the iconic plastic couple to the screen. For those partaking in the ‘Barbenheimer’ trend, Gerwig’s film is a shiny contrast to the macabre melancholy of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and will compete with Nolan’s film to be one of 2023’s best films.