The 21st July has been on many people's minds for a long time and that is for one reason (well really two), it's the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer. Many have debated which one to go see first, and I went for Barbie, mainly because this film has been marketed so well that my expectations could not have been higher. And Greta Gerwig did not disappoint me, she packed this film with humour, heart, satire, and female empowerment... and all in a film about a doll.
At the start of this film we are introduced to our Barbie, "the stereotypical Barbie" (Margot Robbie) she lived the perfect life in Barbieland, breakfast instantly made every morning, always clean, clothes appear in a flash, hair always perfect and surrounded by her other Barbie friends and Ken's... and Alan. But one day she starts to think about death, which of course is a very unusual feeling for Barbie. Barbie is told that to stop these malfunctions she must go to the real world to find the girl playing with her doll and fix these feelings she is having. Barbie experiences the truth of the real world, that women are not always, happy, safe or in power, it is men (sadly). Whereas Ken (Ryan Gosling) enjoys his time in the real world, he experiences a day without Barbie and realises what patriarchy is, deciding that this should be brought back to Barbieland.
Margot Robbie beautifully portrays Barbie, presenting the 'perfect' image, whilst also bringing the emotional elements to this comedic role as she learns about who she is and what she was made for. But who stole the show for me was Ryan Gosling as Ken. He was comedic throughout, shining in every scene he was in with his quick, witty comments, his humorous dancing and his amazing facial expressions. Ryan Gosling really embodied the role of Ken, and made us root for him to find out who he was without Barbie as its always Barbie and Ken. Like in Greta Gerwig's 2019 film Little Women, Barbie also features another emotional female empowering speech; spoken by America Ferrera's human character, Gloria. She explains what it is like to be a woman stuck in a confusing societal trap, whilst also commenting on the controversial legacy of the barbie dolls as it can be debated if they are actually empowering for women, or demeaning?
What had me smiling from the second the film started was the atmosphere of the cinema. I haven't been in a cinema this packed since one of the Marvel films, but this isn't a franchise film, it is a film about a childhood toy. And as I looked around the cinema I saw people of all ages dressed in pink resonate with the film and Barbie's journey, whether they had a doll or not as a child. Even though some may suggest this film is too playful, or childish, Gerwig was able to express the message that Barbie exemplified for little girls; Barbie is powerful, beautiful, strong and can do whatever a child's imagination decides. What shocked me is how much the storyline hit me ( I will admit I cried), Gerwig hit me with moments of a harsh reality but then masked it with humour as every girl has felt like Barbie at some point in their life, and many men have felt lost like Ken.
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