I usually watch movies whose titles end in -ick, -ator, or -ill. And unless it’s Rocky or Rambo, I don’t think I even watch movies that end in vowels, nevermind a pink glitter bomb about a children’s toy that most noticeably does not have Kung-Fu grip and her yellow-haired friend. And yet, here I was watching Barbie and wondering how my life had gone off the rails.
Why did I watch Barbie?
It starts with several stage-setting, dazzling, multistory musical numbers that are exploding with talent, brilliance, and astounding creativity in set design. Lots of good adjectives in that last line, right? Yeah, I still wasn’t interested and my lights were going out.
Theresa told me to hang on and I told her that the mark of a good story is one I don’t have to hang on to.
I hung on.
But something was also tugging at me: Margot Robie (Ordinary Barbie…not Dr. Barbie or President Barbie…just Ordinary Barbie) is as deep as she is classically beautiful. I mean, we’re talking total firepower.
The Story Line
The story line, which has precious few Expendables or Mohicans in it–not even Mr T–is compelling. There is a toy world and a real world and Barbie crosses over…It’s no “come with me if you want to live” but it’s really well done. And it is in the cross-over from toy to real that the fireworks start to happen and the depth of Robie’s acting puts her in what I would consider real Oscar talk. I’m not an expert, but she is devastating in this role.
Female vs Male Roles
The entire film is an exploration of female roles in society. The screen writers are smart and pull off big ideas coming from plastic people with aplomb. The film does get what I would call unfairly preachy a bit and casts men as two-dimensional dweebs (don’t get me wrong, I’m an outstanding 2-dimension dweeb, but only sometimes, not always) a little too much. But also, nobody got hurt. It almost feels more like a rant of the permanently frustrated meant to have something for everyone in it than an actual screed, because Ken is deep and dimensional.
And, this is a good point to shout-out the other Klieg Light of talent, Ryan Gosling’s Ken. Just to be in the role, he was so jacked and ripped he made it look like The Rock could lose a few pounds. He not only sang, he imitated another singer while singing. He played guitar and the subtleties in his acting that gave Ken real depth were thundering. He can dance, too, and I’m pretty sure I hate him now.
But not the movie. Barbie hits. It’s a serious film without being heavy. It’s smart without being boring. It takes on thorny issues and leaves us hopeful.
I definitely did not cry–ever!–during a few scenes. Or now, while I am writing this. Nope. Not me.
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