Review of Barbie (2023) by Exceladeogun — 31 Jul 2023

Barbie.

Dazzling, heartfelt and brilliantly funny. Comedy of the year, movie of the summer! Barbie is a beautiful blend of comedy and heart. Aided deftly by colourful visuals, Greta Gerwig tells the story of a doll coming to life, with asBarbie.

Dazzling, heartfelt and brilliantly funny. Comedy of the year, movie of the summer!

Barbie is a beautiful blend of comedy and heart. Aided deftly by colourful visuals, Greta Gerwig tells the story of a doll coming to life, with as much intellect and emotion that's needed.

Barbie is unabashedly feminist, will ruffle some feathers (as it should), and will delight even more people. Themes of existentialism, individualism and masculinity are also dealt with.

Despite being a product of Mattel, Greta found a way to critique the parent company (although it's funny that the product that mocks the maker ends up raking in more money for the maker).

Margot Robbie is Barbie! She was an agreeable canvas, and she allowed Greta Gerwig to paint a very nuanced portrayal of Barbie. Ryan Gosling turns out a career-best performance in Barbie, stealing and shining in all of his scenes. The supporting cast also gives great performances.

The soundtrack was fitting, guiding the movie down to the finish line with Billie Eilish's 'What was I made for' delivering a wonderful culmination. The set design and costumes were brilliant too.

The lore of Barbie spans over six decades, so compressing it all into one movie was a definite challenge, but Greta was able to bring the most important things (including Easter eggs and fan service) to the movie.

Barbie does have its failings, and the most noticeable is the plot. The first half is very intriguing, quirky and pays homage to other movies, but the second half isn't as tight.

Barbie isn't perfect but it's a beautiful dose of everything good.