"Barbie" Surprises and Delights

First Impressions

This film looks like it is made to fulfill the Barbie in every little girl (or boy). From the pink car to the dream house, this is what every Barbie fan has been dreaming of. For the rest of us, this looks like a funny, playful movie about a toy that comes to life. If Toy Story has told us anything, we have somewhat of an expectation for this movie. Judging by the trailer alone, this looks to be a pretty hilarious film.

"Barbie" Movie Review (Spoilers)

If you think that you're going to take your kids to see a playful, fun movie about a toy that comes to life, you are sadly mistaken. This is in no way that kind of film. What this actually is, is a message that the younger aged will not understand. That's not surprising as this is a film by Greta Gerwig. She is known for women driven stories who rebel against their restrictive circumstances. Not a bad thing though.

Photo by Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures/Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures - © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The film starts out with Barbie as we all know her to be. She's perfect, everyone in her town is perfect, and nothing ever goes wrong in Barbieland. But as any other toy-driven story goes, someone has to think the "what if?" thought opposite of their world and who does that? Barbie! Which sets up the story of the film. Barbie keeps having thoughts about dying which sends the town in a funk. She seeks advice from her friends and then eventually finds herself on Weird Barbie's doorstep for the ultimate advice. All while this is going on, Ken is chilling with his dudes trying to woo over Barbie in classic Ken fashion. Mind you, this film is written from a women's perspective so the views about Ken throughout the film are just that. But don't let that fool you, it's as much of a good thing as it is bad.

Photo by Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures/Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures - © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Once the film steers into the real world, now we have Barbie and Ken both finding out that everything is not so perfect like Barbieland, and this is evident when Ken begins to pick up on the behaviors of men in the real world. This is where it gets pretty comical because from this point on, Ken becomes a massive visual representation of what the stereotypical guy can be like. And it shows itself in a big way toward the middle of the film. But the big picture that Greta is trying to paint here is the fact that Barbie, instead of being a beautiful woman role model for young girls to be whatever they want to be, she became, as Ariana Greenblatt's character put it, "everything wrong with women". She tells Barbie that she's responsible for making every woman feel like they have to have the "perfect body" or the "perfect look" and it's messed with everyone's head. Of course Barbie takes this breaking news very hard and then eventually comes to realization that she's done more harm than good. While all this is very touching and tugs at your heart strings a bit, you're now realizing that this isn't the fun, playful Barbie movie you were expecting.

As far as any sexual content, this has a few one liners that your kids will be asking about later on such as Ken's "naked bulge" and so on. You know, all the stuff we joked about with these dolls at one time or another? Greta does a great job of making sure those weren't left out. There's not a lot of that here though so don't worry, but just keep that in mind in case you let your little one watch.

Photo by Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures/Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures - © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ken steals the show easily, which can be argued as a symbol of men who like to make themselves the center of everything when it comes to women. But this isn't done to insult men, in fact, I think a lot of men will watch this and agree that at one time or another, they were a version of Ken themselves. From his ballad on the beach to his takeover of Barbie's Dreamhouse, Ken manages to have more outstanding moments in the film than Barbie herself. But again, not a bad thing. Will Ferrell is in this also but just not enough. As the CEO of the corporation who created Barbie, he is also a big visual representation of how men rule

Final Word

Barbie is a great film all around. It has a great message and manages to show it without being too much in your face about it. I personally think this film is not ready for young audiences as some of the sexual innuendos will go over their head and have them asking you questions later and the overall message will be confusing for them. Outside of all of that, it is full of funny situations and nods to the toys. People who played with Barbie's will get a lot of them. This is definitely more for the young adults and older. Bring your pink attire and sunglasses because Barbie is taking you for a ride. I give this 9/10.