Not since The Lego Movie has film managed to be the perfect merger of corporate brand building, cultural zeitgeist, accessible pop entertainment, and A-list auteur Hollywood. Barbie is all things to all people; pleasing the film twitter crowd who love darling directors putting out unique and innovating "cinema", the four-corner mainstream who line up for the latest blockbuster, and the corporate overlords who are looking to cash in. Barbie will entertain while also giving you something quite complex to think about while also making you want to buy the tie ins. Win! Win! Win?
Director Gerwig and her writing partner (and life partner) Baumbach have pulled off a writer/director masterpiece/blockbuster that helps establish her as one of the most interesting directors working today. Their script is definitely not what you'd expect, truly being an existential reflection on identity and gender, the history of inclusion, and the inevitability of death, while never once compromising on delivering a truly funny script, a star studded event, and a story that will entertain the masses. Barbie also builds love and loyalty to a merchandizing brand. The script, while only in the most subtle ways critiques the product's problematic history, generally sells the dolls on their very best terms. Like all brands in capitalism, Barbie has both positive and negative effects in the real world (and a lot in between) and the film gives nod to this but only in a way that highlights a positive and points her as a beacon to the future in a way that most of the audience will embrace.
Barbie hits at patriarchy pretty hard, embedding the populist message that not only does it hurt women it hurts men too, but in a way designed to be comfortable with all the but only the most incel amongst us. One of the biggest revelations in the film is when Ken realizes he can be Ken without having to be attached to Barbie. The film posits that perhaps the inversion of gender norms may not be the solution (a welcome yet rather accessible position) and builds a space for everyone outside of rigid gender roles. While the film's cultural focus stays squarely in the gender category and remains rather surface on the complex issues of diversity, Gerwig has filled her film with representation as a way of including all. Her cast is filled with lead actors of many races, features multiple LGBTQ+ actors, a mix of body types, etc. Everyone can be Barbie the film hints without taking the uncomfortable steps of voicing it outright.
Cause Barbie is a mainstream hit with a soundtrack filled with today's biggest artists and Mattel and Warners need a cash cow. I'm of two minds on this. Cause if you were to strip out the corporate influence Barbie's script is pretty top notch, one of the funniest and entertaining films to come along in a long time and doing a pretty decent job of commenting on our culture in ways that I truly appreciated. It's non-threatening approach has its definite advantages in how that can reach the largest audience possible without alienating the people it's trying to reach. But I can't ignore how this (like the other Hollywood wannabe blockbusters that the other studios are churning out - yes we're looking at you Disney!) is designed to sell toys... and clothes, and soundtracks, and coffees, and well everything. Going to the multiplex is about being marketed to and it's easy to forget that but a movie like Barbie comes along and it's a little more in our face than we are used to.
But, and this is important, Barbie is good cinema. Gerwig has truly made a great film. Robbie is transcendent here in a role that could have been something less. She reminds us that she is a true talent and... well, a movie star in the old school definition of the term. If this had been unsponsored satire, with the names changed to suggest the famous brand without breaking copyright, it would be the darling of the indie festival circuit. And, cause we know it's true, it would be generating it's own tie in products. Can we escape any of this in our current position in late-stage capitalism?
Barbie manages to be for everyone. Yes it's for little girls. It's for little girls that have grown up. It's for boys and boys who have grown up. It's for all ages and races and communities of all kinds. Barbie is the kind of movie anyone can enjoy (unless you're too busy warring against the woke to be able to enjoy life). It is also capturing a cultural moment while tapping into a longer trends and cultural evolution. This is blockbuster cinema along with some of the best franchise Hollywood has produced. It likely will face a bit more harsh criticism of its commercialism due to it being a "female" centric brand (than maybe the Marvel or Star Wars films which do exactly the same thing) but it does hold up as a great moment in pop culture.
Barbie
Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Ariana Greenblatt, Will Ferrell, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans, Hari Nef, Ncuti Gatwa, Alexandra Shipp, John Cena, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Dua Lipa, Nicola Coughlan, Emerald Fennell, Helen Mirren
Director: Greta Gerwig
Writers: Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig
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