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I’ve been a Greta Gerwig fan since I saw her in Frances Ha, so it’s been thrilling to see the rest of the world catch up, first in the critical acclaim of Lady Bird, then in the popular success of Little Women, and now in the crescendo of frenzy surrounding Barbie. I went on Saturday and found the theater a mass of pink and abuzz with excitement. I don’t think I’ve seen an audience with this kind of energy for a new release since The Return of the King.
And it was a lot of fun! Gerwig leaned hard into the Barbie aesthetic, everything bright bright BRIGHT colors, the water painted rather than actually wet, a world ruled by women where almost everyone is named Barbie: the air hums with the chirp of “Hi Barbie!” as the Barbies move around their paradise, where every day is a great day… unless you’re a Ken, when it’s only a great day if Barbie notices you.
All the actors are having a blast with their over-the-top characters. Margot Robie is fantastic as Stereotypical Barbie. (There’s a moment when she thinks she’s not pretty anymore, and the narrator, voiced by Helen Mirren, is like, “Don’t cast Margot Robie if you want this beat to land,” which brought down the house.) Ryan Gosling is a perfect foil as Ken. (“Who’s that guy?” I asked my friends, and they said, “That’s Ryan Gosling! But it’s so perfect for this movie that you don’t know…”). Kate McKinnon is gnawing on the scenery as Weird Barbie and clearly having the time of her life, and Michael Cera was born to play lonely Allan, the only Allan in a world otherwise populated with Barbies and Kens.
But something is going wrong with Stereotypical Barbie. Her toast burns! Her feet have gone flat! And she’s started to feel existential angst about death… Clearly, there’s only one thing to do: she has to go to the Real World to figure out what’s going wrong out there. Ken tags along for the ride… ( Spoilers )
And it was a lot of fun! Gerwig leaned hard into the Barbie aesthetic, everything bright bright BRIGHT colors, the water painted rather than actually wet, a world ruled by women where almost everyone is named Barbie: the air hums with the chirp of “Hi Barbie!” as the Barbies move around their paradise, where every day is a great day… unless you’re a Ken, when it’s only a great day if Barbie notices you.
All the actors are having a blast with their over-the-top characters. Margot Robie is fantastic as Stereotypical Barbie. (There’s a moment when she thinks she’s not pretty anymore, and the narrator, voiced by Helen Mirren, is like, “Don’t cast Margot Robie if you want this beat to land,” which brought down the house.) Ryan Gosling is a perfect foil as Ken. (“Who’s that guy?” I asked my friends, and they said, “That’s Ryan Gosling! But it’s so perfect for this movie that you don’t know…”). Kate McKinnon is gnawing on the scenery as Weird Barbie and clearly having the time of her life, and Michael Cera was born to play lonely Allan, the only Allan in a world otherwise populated with Barbies and Kens.
But something is going wrong with Stereotypical Barbie. Her toast burns! Her feet have gone flat! And she’s started to feel existential angst about death… Clearly, there’s only one thing to do: she has to go to the Real World to figure out what’s going wrong out there. Ken tags along for the ride… ( Spoilers )
