Barbie

 

Barbie

There are many words to describe this movie, witty, clever, funny but most importantly smart. The film has societal messaging and comedy helps make the delivery acceptable. Not to be accused of spoilers there were scenes where the audience laughed out loud. The script is a balance between absurdity and seriousness. The word patriarchal defines the status quo and is a target of the Barbies.

The cast is full of talent. Margot Robbie is the perfect Barbie (what else) her comic timing is great. Just from the expressions in her eyes, you can see when doubt of her existence emerges. It is not all silliness, there are warm and tender scenes in the film and Robbie delivers. Her awkwardness and cluelessness in the real world are clever.

Then there are the Ken’s. The main Ken is Ryan Gosling. He is a buffed boy toy who is sexually naive. He does a lot of posing and his overacting works well. There are many Kens in the movie and Ken’s main rival is Simu Liu. They are rivals for Barbie. There is a great dance-off with all the Kens which is more entertaining than combative.

The one non-Ken in Barbie land is Allan played by Michael Cera. His low-keyed acting style plays perfectly for an outcaste in the perfect Ken world. He does break type in one scene to his surprise and ours. Kate McKinnon perfectly plays Weird Barbie. She is un-Barbie in looks and brains. Mattel actually made a limited edition of Weird Barbie (for $50).

Will Farrell is the real world president of Mattel. His trademark wackiness is on display. He provided some of the better laughs. Rhea Perlman (Danny DeVito’s wife) is the spirit of Ruth Handler the creator of Barbie (Barbie was named after her daughter, Barbara). Ruth gives Barbie sage advice.

Make sure to watch the opening scenes of the movie it is a witty parody of a classic sci-fi movie.

Barbie outgrossed Warner Brother’s The Dark Knight with $1.2b worldwide. Not bad for a doll.