This film makes a simple point in a nuanced and complex way. It is a point worth making and the film does it well. I did however feel it was a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut - it was like having got the Barbie juggernaut rolling, the producers were intent on milking the franchise for all they could get. Not unlike the portrayal of Mattel in the film.Margot Robbie in the titular role is stunning and Ryan Gosling is well cast as an all singing and all dancing Ken. The film explores fantasy and imagination and our ability to create worlds. It is essentially a film about making meaning and being true to yourself.
PARTIAL SPOILER ALERT
At the opening of the film, Barbieland is filled with a variety of Barbies and Kens - and an Alan as a nod to those who don't identify as either a Barbie or Ken. The lead Barbie is a 'Stereotypical Barbie' - a point made so many times that it becomes too repetitive in the film. Yes, we are all guilty of stereotyping through unconscious bias and for too long we have allowed consumerism to cajole us into colluding with the status quo.
The utopian Barbieland serves up a pastel, syrupy and idealised beach-front landscape from the American Dream of the post-war era. All the jobs in Barbieland are filled by women from the President to the bin collectors. Ken's function is to do 'beach'. Whilst Barbie is happy to drive to the beach and back every day and host a girls' night in her house every night, Ken is left aching for attention from Barbie for whom he has been made and for whom he has unrequited love. This is the first indication of dysfunction in Barbieland.
Barbie's monotonous routine is broken when she awakens one morning with a preoccupation with death and everything begins to turn sour - even her breakfast milk is off! Such is the state of her malady, that she is sent by the Barbies to see the Scary Barbie who is the only one capable of offering a remedy.
It transpires that Stereotypical Barbie has been affected by the fears and anxieties of her owner playing with her in the real world. In a scene reminiscent of the Wizard of Oz Barbie travels to the real world to confront her owner. Like an alien encounter from Star Trek, Barbie, accompanied by Ken, blunder their way through Venice Beach which is completely strange yet confusingly familiar to them. Having mentioned two films, many more are referenced by a clever script: 2001, Toy Story 3, Matrix, La La Land, Clueless, Midnight Cowboy, Singing in the Rain - the list goes on and on and Director Greta Gerwig admits to being 'inspired' by 29 films in an interview with Letterboxd.
There is much to laugh at in this film and much to shed a tear over. It holds up a mirror and allows the viewer to examine themselves, their prejudices and relationships. The placement of Mattel is brazen as the creator of Barbie and the world's second largest toy maker. The Board of the company is beautifully portrayed in a stereotypically Barbie-kind-of-way and Will Ferrell as the CEO is fantastic. Mattel allowed themselves to be cynically portrayed as a mega-corporation because the film will no doubt launch a massive range of new Barbie paraphernalia - only this time the target will be much wider than has traditionally been the case. Undoubtedly this film will make a lot of money for Mattel.
I won't spoil all the fun - I'll leave you to watch the film and work out how the dysfunction is accommodated in an evolving Barbieland. But I will say that in another wonderful piece of stereotyping, the pivot around which the story moves, is a speech from Latina single mum Gloria:
It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.
You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people.
You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.
But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.
You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.
I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don't even know.
My significant other helpfully suggests that this speech could just as easily be about men - the point the film makes (repeatedly).
This film is very clever and full in your face, it is visually stunning. It is very pink. The acting is very good and Greta Gerwig as Director and screenplay co-writer deserves plaudits for her creativity, inventiveness and ability to handle a tricky subject in a way that leaves all kinds of people in a better place. For me the film was too long and had too much to say that was repetitive. For its quirkiness and courage, I'll give it 7/10.
