Barbie

 

Based on the dolls created by Ruth Handler and the Mattel Toy Company, Barbie is the story about a variation of the doll who finds herself in an existential crisis as she and Ken go into the real world in a journey of self-discovery despite the presence of Mattel’s CEO. Directed by Greta Gerwig and screenplay by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, the film is a comedy of sorts in which the titular character and her longtime boyfriend begin to question their own existence as they travel to the real world in the hope they can fix themselves as Margot Robbie plays the titular role with Ryan Gosling as Ken. Also starring America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Emma Mackey, Ariana Greenblatt, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Dua Lipa, John Cena, Scott Evans, Hari Neff, Alexandra Shipp, Sharon Rooney, Emerald Fennell, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, and narration by Helen Mirren. Barbie is a whimsical and riveting film from Greta Gerwig.

Set partially in a utopian alternate universe, the film revolves around a titular doll who lives in a world that is meant to represent all of the good qualities of young girls and women until she suddenly experiences an existential crisis where she and her boyfriend Ken travel to the real world to discover a world that is way more complicated. It is a film where this doll that is meant to be an inspiration for girls and women all over the world finds herself thinking about death and all sorts of things as her journey to the real world in Los Angeles has her coming to terms with who she is and the complicated feelings she’s developing. The film’s screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach has a simple structure that features bits of narration by Helen Mirren that adds to the drama that Barbie faces as well as her many variations that also include discontinued dolls such as Allan (Michael Cera) and the pregnant doll Midge (Emerald Fennell) as the former also goes through his own existential crisis.

The first act is set in this utopian universe known as Barbieland as it is this matriarchal society where Barbies rule the land while the Kens do recreational activities on the beach while the Barbies are doctors, lawyers, politicians, and such as its protagonist known as Stereotypical Barbie starts to crumble through her own existential crises as she turns to Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) for help where Barbie decides to go to the real world with Ken joining her as he also experiences an existential crisis. The film’s second act is set in Los Angeles where Barbie realizes that she isn’t this inspiration upon meeting a teenage girl in Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) whose mother Gloria (America Ferrera) works as a receptionist for Mattel’s CEO (Will Ferrell). Gloria is a fan of Barbie as she learns about what Barbie is going through as the CEO and his team of executives try to put Barbie back in her box in their idea that it would save their own universe. The film’s third act returns to Barbieland where things definitely go wrong as it relates to Ken’s own discovery of patriarchy in the real world with Barbie becoming more unsure of herself and her purpose in life whether it is real or plastic.

Gerwig’s direction is definitely wondrous for the fact that it pays tribute to cinema and its long history ranging from American musicals to the French cinema of the 1960s yet it begins with a scene that sort of spoofs Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. It opens with young girls playing with plastic baby dolls that doesn’t do much until they see a giant Barbie doll as it is all narrated by Helen Mirren that sets the tone for the film as well as the influence Barbie would have for young girls. Shot largely on location at the Warner Brothers Studio lot at Leavesden, England with the second act shot entirely on location in Los Angeles. Gerwig presents Barbieland as this world where it is artificial including the beach where there are these matte backgrounds and artificial lighting yet there is something beautiful in the way Gerwig presents it. Notably as the usage of the wide and medium shots showcase this world that is off the wall but also gorgeous with these immense set designs as well as some dance numbers choreographed by Jennifer White.

The scenes in Los Angeles is more straightforward with Gerwig using close-ups as it plays into Barbie’s interaction with the real world and the weight of emotion that she is dealing with as it includes this brief interaction with this old lady (Ann Roth). Gerwig also maintains this element of surrealism when Barbie is running from the CEO and his executives where she hides in a room where she meets another old woman in Ruth (Rhea Perlman) as it allows Barbie a glimpse into a world that is ordinary yet full of wonderment. The third act has Gerwig not only play into these gender politics and identities that men and women play into but also the many complications and contradictions both men and women deal with. Even as the Barbies realize the lack of power the Kens have as they also deal with the CEO and his executives who are forced to ponder their own roles in selling Barbie to the world. Then there’s Barbie and Ken as the film’s ending relates to who they are by themselves and their own purpose in the world. Overall, Gerwig crafts a rapturous and witty film about a living doll going on an existential crisis and discover her true purpose for womanhood.

Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its vibrant usage of colors in the usage of artificial lighting for the scenes in Barbieland including the scenes at night while the scenes in Los Angeles has a more naturalistic look in the film. Editor Nick Houy does excellent work with the editing as it has elements of style in the montage of Barbie and Ken traveling through the portal as well as some straightforward cutting that include shots where scenes are allowed to linger including the first party in the film’s first act. Production designer Sarah Greenwood, with set decorators Katie Spencer and Ashley Swanson plus supervising art directors Andrew Max Cahn and Dean Clegg, does phenomenal work with the look of Barbieland with its design of the dream houses that the Barbies live in as well as the places and the beach in Barbieland as well as the interiors of the Mattel building. Costume designer Jacqueline Durran does amazing work with the costumes from the different array of clothing the Barbies wear including some of the iconic dresses as well as the clothes that the Kens wear including some of the stuff in the film’s third act as it is a major highlight of the film.

Hair/makeup supervisors Robb Crafer and Lois McIntosh do fantastic work with the look of the Barbies and their different hairstyles as well as the look of Kens including the ones they would adopt in the film’s third act. Special effects supervisor Mark Holt, along with visual effects supervisors Glen Pratt and Ned Wilson, does brilliant work with the effects with the emphasis on stylized visual effects for some of the scenes in Barbieland including some practical effects such as a dog that Weird Barbie owns along with a few bits in the scenes in Los Angeles. Sound designers Dan Kenyon and Ai-Ling Lee do superb work with the sound in some of the sound effects that appear in Barbieland that add to the artificial element of the film as well as the natural sounds in the scenes set in Los Angeles.

The film’s music by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt is wonderful for its mixture of pop and electronic sounds with elements of orchestral textures to play into the adventure and humor while music supervisor George Drakoulias cultivate a fun music soundtrack that features an array of music that include contributions from Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice with Aqua, Billie Eilish, Karol G with Aldo Ranks, Sam Smith, Tame Impala, Dominic Fike, Haim, the Kid Laroi, Khalid, Gayle, Ava Max, Fifty-Fifty with Kalil, PinkPantheress, the Indigo Girls, Matchbox Twenty, Brandi Carlisle with Catherine Carlisle, and Ryan Gosling singing his own song about Ken and a cover of Matchbox Twenty’s Push.

The casting by Lucy Bevan and Allison Jones is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Annie Mumulo as an anxiety-ridden mother at a middle school, legendary costume designer Ann Roth as the old lady that Barbie meets in Los Angeles, Connor Swindells as a Mattel intern who tells the CEO about a Barbie and Ken on the loose, Jamie Demetriou as the Mattel CFO, Rob Brydon as the cancelled Sugar Daddy Ken, Tom Strouton as the discontinued Earring Ken, the quartet of Olivia Brody, Isla Ashworth, Eire Farrell, and Daisy Duczmal as the four young girls in the 2001 sequence, Ryan Piers Williams as the el esposo de Gloria, Emerald Fennell as the discontinued pregnant Barbie known as Midge, and Rhea Perlman as a mysterious figure known as Ruth whom Barbie would meet at the Mattel building. In the roles of the variations of Ken, there’s Simu Liu as a rival of Ken, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Ncuti Gatwa as a couple of Kens who are friends of Ken, Scott Evans as Ken’s rival’s friend who always backs up his Ken, and John Cena as merman Ken as they all provide some hilarious performances with Liu being the standout as the guy who has issues with Ken.

In the roles of the variations of Barbies, there’s Dua Lipa as a trio of mermaid Barbies, Ana Cruz Kanye as Supreme Court Judge Barbie, Nicola Coughlan as Diplomat Barbie, Ritu Arya as Journalist Barbie, Sharon Rooney as Lawyer Barbie, Emma Mackey as Physicist Barbie, Hari Neff as Dr. Barbie, Alexandra Shipp as Writer Barbie, and Issa Rae as President Barbie as they’re all fantastic with their humor as well as what happens to them in the third act. Kate McKinnon is excellent as Weird Barbie as an outcast of sorts who has been to the real world and guides Barbie to go there while also being this representation of what young girls do with Weird Barbies. Ariana Greenblatt is brilliant as Sasha as a tween girl who believes Barbie represents a negative image to young women as she’s going through growing pains until she realizes how much her mother loves Barbie dolls and the fact that she can help change things.

Will Ferrell is amazing as the Mattel CEO who is troubled by the idea of Barbie and Ken in the real world as he deals with a lot of trouble while also finding a way to go to Barbieland where Ferrell’s reactions to everything around him is hilarious. Michael Cera is great as Allan as a discontinued doll who is often neglected by many in Barbieland until he starts to rebel against the events in the film’s third act where he becomes an ally to the Barbies. America Ferrera is phenomenal as Gloria as a Mattel receptionist for the CEO who is a fan of Barbie as she is dealing with all sorts of issues including her daughter Sasha as she also realizes what Barbie is dealing with as Ferrera has a great moment in a monologue that plays into the many contradictions that women deal with.

Ryan Gosling is magnificent as Ken as this doll who is just trying to get Barbie’s attention as well as be this boyfriend to her though he often feels neglected until he goes to the real world and discovers patriarchy where he finds some meaning but also becomes unsure of himself as Gosling brings in a lot of humor and heartbreak in his singing as it is a performance for the ages. Finally, there’s Margot Robbie in a tremendous performance as Barbie as this doll who experiences an existential crisis where she travels to the real world as she becomes more confused about her role where Robbie brings a lot of wit but also in displaying the sense of despair when Barbie becomes sad as it is an iconic performance from Robbie.

Barbie is a spectacular film from Greta Gerwig that features great leading performances from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Along with a great ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, a fun music soundtrack, immense art direction, and its themes on womanhood. It is a film that isn’t just entertaining in its humor and dazzling set pieces but also a film that showcases the importance of dolls and what they can do for children in proving they can be anything no matter how weird it can be. In the end, Barbie is a magnificent film from Greta Gerwig.

Greta Gerwig Films: (Nights and Weekend) – Lady Bird - Little Women (2019 film)

© thevoid99 2023