the ask@AAR: Have you seen Barbie and what did you think?

I finally saw Barbie last week in a funky little theater in Asheville, North Carolina. My daughter and I took in an afternoon show and the theater was almost empty–it was the two of us and five other women. It was my daughter’s second time–she thinks it’s a very funny movie. I agree–its humor along with standout performances by leads Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are the best things about the film.

Barbie is, of course, much more than just another summer movie. It’s made Greta Gerwig the only solo female director to have her film make over a billion dollars. In box office totals unadjusted for inflation, it’s one of only 53 movies to have made over that amount. It’s the most successful film of the year–and we haven’t even gotten to the dozens and dozens of crossover deals Mattel has inked–Primark! The Gap! Burger King! Crocs! and so so many others. Every studio is now scrambling to make their own toy based film–here’s betting almost none of them will match Barbie’s success–and pink is EVERYWHERE.

I enjoyed Barbie–Robbie and Gosling both deserve nominations for their work. (Here’s hoping Gosling gets his long denied Oscar.) Kate McKinnon and Michael Cera made me laugh, just thinking about the Kens singing Push still makes me smile, and the whole deprogrammed Barbies campaign is a genuine hoot. I didn’t find it especially profound nor did I think its ending was wildly inspiring. Part of the issue is that the real world in Gerwig’s movie is worse than our real world–Mattel’s executive Board and the American Supreme Court are not all male nor is the former run by Buddy the Elf–and that made the messaging less powerful. Parts of the film are feminist, parts are not, and Rhea Perlman’s Ruth Handler seemed to be channeling both Oprah and a sales clerk in the doll department. All of which is fine. It’s a movie, a very fun movie, and one that has connected us all.

What do you think about it? Have you seen it? If not, do you plan to? If you did, did you like it? If not, why not?


Subscribe
Notify of
guest

16 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments