Starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman and Will Ferrell. Written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, directed by Greta Gerwig. Budget $145 million. Running time 114 minutes.
Life is good in Barbie Land for Barbie, all Barbies, everyday is a party be it on the beach, at work, or the nightly girls-night disco, dance-off variety. It never rains, and every one is happy, happy, happy!
That is until Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) begins to think about death, stops walking on her toes and starts doubting her existence. And don't talk to me about Ken (Ryan Gosling), he doesn't even have a home.
Realising something is off, Barbie heads off to talk to Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) and before you can say, what-the-what, she's off on a quest to the real world to find the little girl to whom Barbie belongs to and find out what's making her so sad. While Ken, who stows away tags along for the ride and his discovery of masculinity is an absolute hoot!
And that's the plot. Obviously apart from the male patriarchy issues that Barbie or more significantly Ken brings back to Barbie Land, oh and Mattel's attempts to stop her and put her back in her box, the brainwashing of the other Barbies and the destruction of everything Barbie knows and loves.
Referencing almost every Barbie ever made, as well as its creator, and also its inspiration and all the discontinued Barbie dolls including Sasha, Gloria, Midge, Skipper, Pregnant Barbie, and Alan (Michael Cera) Ken's best friend, and you have a movie packed with characters, and I haven't even mentioned the human ones on this side of the portal lead by the CEO of Mattel (Will Ferrel).
A great cast, Margot and Ryan were born for these roles, the humour is sharp and tight, the film had me from the get-go with a glorious homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey. And the message it preached brilliantly walks the thin line between enlightening and overly worthy and condescending, never falling into a 'what a wonderful lesson we've all learned here today', like Dr Who did with its woeful Rosa Parks episode. And it's safe to say that there are going to be a lot of men who are going to get triggered and royally triggered by this film, thus missing the joke entirely.
Visually this film is a treat, Barbie town is lovingly re-created and the attention to detail is spot on, and the continuity within this fictitious world is brilliant. With a strong female bias, THIS is a funny, clever and thoroughly entertaining movie, that doesn't outstay its welcome, and most certainly doesn't need a male reviewer to mansplain it to any female readers.
Go, enjoy. It's a bloody treat!
8/10
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