Let’s see if we’re Kenough.
In what might be the biggest film of the year, we follow living doll Barbie (Margot Robbie) as she has an existential crisis when she realizes the doll world is not reflective of the real world. In order to make things right, she travels to the real world to connect with a young mother (America Ferrera) while Ken (Ryan Gosling) realizes the truth of the patriarchy. Can Barbie save the doll world?
Greta Gerwig’s world is one of the more colorful and playful sets I have seen recently. The doll world is simply wonderful and embraces the inherent absurdity to the idea. We have numerous Barbies (doctor, judge, weird) and a ton of Kens (whose jobs range from beach to various other things). It’s a girls’ world, and Ken feels isolated and left out.
When Ken sees how men rule the real world he overthrows the matriarchy in the doll world and turns the place into an exaggerated (though only slightly) version of the real world. Barbie, meanwhile, has to run from Hasbro employees and others as she strives for her goal.
This movie is funny.
Several of the set pieces are simply wonderful. A late dance-off is simply dazzling. We have several absurd moments that propel the narrative forward. Likewise, we have some truly touching scenes. My personal favorite is with Barbie and an older woman at a bus stop.
The social expectations of women are on full blast here. Be pretty but not too pretty–that sort of dichotomous existence that women must endure. Further, the isolated roles and tricky positioning of women make for a social mess, which is lambasted here. The film mixes social commentary with a sweet story.
What is funny to me about this film is that the feminist arguments are not that deep. Barbie wants women to be treated equally–to be allowed to fulfill their own authenticity. The film shows the problems of one gender dominating in two examples (original doll world and real world). If I would have seen this movie in a bubble I would have thought it did not go far enough.
However, the simple ask of equality drove some insecure man children to performatively burn Barbie dolls in real life. The vitriolic and misogynistic overreaction to this film not only proves the thesis of the story, it also shows how even minor feminist arguments are going to bring controversy. Knowing this film made adult children and incels cry make it worth a watch by itself.
Now, I did not find the film to be perfect. I’ve said many-a-time that I probably should not review comedies. Several of the joke bits went on too long for me. The introductory scene and the escape from Hasbro are cute but could have been trimmed (in my opinion). I think the whole experience could have been about ten minutes shorter. Alternatively, more time with other Barbies or Kens to develop the world would have been nice.
Either way, if you want to see a doll go through an existential crisis and laugh along the way, I don’t think you have any options other than this one.
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