The world’s most famous doll turns her thoughts to more existential, philosophical matters in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, a jazzy and infectiously vibrant summer blockbuster.
★★★★✰
60-plus years and over 40 animated films since this Mattel doll’s inception, we finally have the first live-action Barbie. At the helm is one of the best directors working today in Greta Gerwig, backed up by a riotous ensemble to rival even the biggest Wes Anderson cast. Gerwig’s third directorial feature, which she co-wrote with Noah Baumbach, isn’t your typical Barbie iteration though: here, one of the world’s best known dolls turns philosophical, questioning the meaning of life and striving for gender equality. Driven by sharp comedy and strong thematic commentary, Barbie shows that whilst Gerwig’s step into bigger budget, more studio-driven features might mean her films lose some of their unique charm, it most certainly won’t result in the loss of any high energy or indisputable quality.
We start in Barbieland, where the Barbies rule the roost and the Kens vye for any scrap of attention from their female leaders. To the residents of this sparkling utopia, this hierarchy is merely a reflection of the real world, a notion that, as we of course know, is far from the truth. After Margot Robbie’s Original Barbie experiences strange sensations—flat feet, bad breath, cellulite—she embarks on a quest through a portal to the real world in a bid to find out the cause for these new occurrences. She is accompanied by Ryan Gosling’s Ken because, well, he’s just Ken and he just loves Barbie.
In the real world, masculinity runs rife, amped up by Gerwig and Baumbach but still totally realistic. Monstrous hummers roam the city centre, men leer at Barbie in her leotard, and policemen strut around on horses. Here, the duality of Barbie’s plot comes out: Barbie sees the harsh truth that the roles of Barbieland are completely reversed in the real world, whilst Ken sees the potential power and becomes corrupted by it. This twofold, interconnected plot gives Gerwig and Baumbach the chance to bring forth cutting satire that references gender inequality and feminism, right down to the concept of the very Barbie doll itself. Barbie never goes full throttle in this aspect, which is a shame, but it still maintains a strength in its messages.
In almost every other aspect however, Barbie is a fiery, blistering affair that rarely takes a chance to stop and breathe. Notably though, some of the film’s best moments come when it pauses, with Gerwig and Baumbach’s writing skills coming to the fore. It can be haphazard and messy at times, but there are never moments that lack in verve or interest. Barbieland is a sight to behold: the fantastic production and set design cohere into something truly special, a bombastic, breezy arena of plastic waves, sun-kissed vistas, and blindingly colourful houses and inhabitants. Backed up by a sumptuous soundtrack produced by Mark Ronson and featuring original songs from the likes of Charli XCX and Nicki Minaj, Barbie is a wholly beautiful, bold, and fully coherent extravaganza.
Throughout this high octane energy, Gerwig never loses sight of Barbie’s more important themes, again showcasing her impressive capacity at balancing humour with serious drama. Barbie never hits the heights of Lady Bird (2017) or Little Women (2019)—there are no moments on the same level as Saoirse Ronan’s climactic speech in the latter—but it never falls far from these two masterpieces. Barbie shows the far-reaching possibilities of womanhood, never strictly defining the vastly varied female experience whilst also encouraging freedom and identity. It does this in a celebratory fashion and also with angrier tones, rightly embittered at the norms of the patriarchal world.
The comedy is sharp, bolstered by a dynamite ensemble and the star of the show: Gosling. As Barbie, Robbie is fantastic, engendering the film with the serious, emotional angles, but Gosling gives us not just a slice of comedy gold, but a whole bucketload. We’ve seen him in comedies such as The Nice Guys (2016) before, but in Barbie, this is his best comedic performance to date—and perhaps his best in any film.
Whilst clumsy at times, Barbie is always a joy to watch and experience, even when Barbie turns to existential reflections on human/doll existence and death. “Does anyone ever think about dying?” she muses at a particularly intense dance party in Barbieland. Themes are sometimes handled bluntly, but for the most part, they soar. Inevitably, Barbie feels like a big studio movie, which contributes to the loss of some of the tact and resonance of Gerwig’s Lady Bird, but when the party is this dynamic, this colourful, this powerful, and this much fun, it’s hard to feel anything but giddy. Come on, Barbie, come on, Ken, come on, everybody: the feel-good film of the summer is here.
The Verdict
Barbie occasionally lets itself down with inconsistent and bumbling thematic commentaries, but Greta Gerwig’s scintillating direction, an epic, hilarious ensemble cast, and inventive production design help bring Mattel’s famous dolls to live-action cinema in stupendously entertaining fashion.
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