Review: Barbie

Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

The fact that director Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" exists at all is incredible. This is a movie that takes an icon of consumerism - one of the best selling and most beloved toys of all time - and crafts a film around it that tackles feminism, existential angst, corporate greed, toxic masculinity, being comfortable in one's own body, and the ridiculous double standards through which women in the workplace must suffer. To top it off, the filmmakers sneak in numerous jokes at the expense of the multi-billion dollar company that created the toy and whose logo appears onscreen before the film's title.

Co-written by Gerwig - who in three films has become one of the most interesting among the crop of young American directors - and Noah Baumbach, "Barbie" kicks off with an extended "2001: A Space Odyssey" reference and begins as a kooky, candy colored comedy about Barbie's (a great Margot Robbie) perfect life in Barbieworld - where everyone is named either Barbie or Ken, except of course for poor Allen (Michael Cera), who just can't catch a break - where her feet never touch the ground, her toast always flies out of the toaster and lands on her plate, and everyone is always glad to see her, especially Ken (Ryan Gosling, also wonderful), who always craves her attention.

But one day, things begin to get weird: Barbie falls off her roof, rather than floats down into her car; the water in her shower is cold and her milk has expired; she notices cellulite on her thigh; and, gasp, she begins pondering death. What the hell is going on? Barbie is told to consult Weird Barbie (a funny Kate McKinnon), who tells her that something is going on in The Real World that is causing problems in Barbieworld, and that the girl who is playing with her is likely projecting her own problems onto Barbie.

Barbie travels to the Real World and, in the process, finds that Ken is a stowaway travel companion. Once there, the two continually get arrested as Barbie finds that The Real World isn't as peaceful or progressive as Barbieworld - where there's a woman president and a Supreme Court completely comprised of women - while Ken is excited to discover the patriarchy, which he exports back to Barbieworld after he flees, leaving Barbie on her own in The Real World. Barbie discovers that the girl she is seeking is actually a grown woman, Gloria (America Ferrera), with a sulky teen daughter (Ariana Greenblatt) and a job at Mattel, where she has been sketching designs for Barbies that more closely resemble real women.

Greenblatt's teenage character lambasts Barbie upon first meeting her, telling her that Barbie set feminism back by creating unrealistic body images for women - which comes as a shock to Barbie, considering that the place from which she hails is run by women and significantly more progressive. 

Upon returning to Barbieworld - with Ferrera's and Greenblatt's characters in tow - she realizes that the Kens have turned it into a patriarchal hellscape where the other Barbies have been brainwashed into happily serving the Kens beer upon request and Barbieworld's constitution is set to be overturned. Barbie must collaborate with Gloria as well as the other Barbies - who are of different races and body sizes - to save the day. 

With "Lady Bird" and "Little Women," Gerwig became one of the most exciting new voices in filmmaking, although she'd been acting for some years prior, and "Barbie" is another unique addition to her oeuvre. And what makes it so is that it takes one of the most recognizable icons of American culture and creates a story around it that is such a far cry from the way in which most people have come to see it.

"Barbie" is significantly better than any movie revolving around a popular toy has any right to be, and that's because Gerwig and company have made a movie that speaks to our present moment and delivers ideas in such a fresh, funny, compelling, and often downright weird manner. I'm not sure that anyone other than this director could have made such a unique movie about this particular character.