Review: Barbie

I hope Greta Gerwig smiles as she sips her glass of chardonnay today!

For some, director and writer Greta Gerwig’s summer hit, Barbie, is like dark chocolate; put another way - it has left a bitter taste in the mouths of American men. Yet it isn’t a huge departure from Gerwig’s previously female-driven films, like “Little Women” or “Lady Bird.” So why has a movie about a doll made grown men so mad? 

Barbie broke records, raking in $155 million domestically in just two days, making it the highest US opening for a movie directed by a woman. I saw the film one month after its release, and the theater still heaved with curious people. 

The film’s plot is simple: Barbie wakes up one morning in Barbie Land, where females manage society and the men are pretty and simple, to find things changing. Eventually, as these changes become more invasive, our heroine must travel to the real world to uncover the disruption of her utopia. While there, she discovers the patriarchy, which eventually threatens to destroy her home. To a male audience, this film might be seen as giving women ideas. 

Right-wing media commentators spent the days following the film’s release flooding our feeds with anti-Barbie messaging. Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire released: “Ben Shapiro DESTROYS The Barbie Movie in 43 Minutes.” 43 minutes! Other critics accused the movie of being commodity marketing for Mattel, but they were also missing the point. This film is a feminist fantasy comedy satire, and those being poked fun at clearly felt hurt, perhaps because they were, finally, the butt of the joke. I hope Greta smiles as she sips her glass of chardonnay today. 

The film’s beautifully pink aesthetic, its detailed Barbie paraphernalia, its music to represent a frustrated patriarchy (Matchbox Twenties’ Push) and its allusions to iconic gender-binary-affirming films like Grease, reveal a very well-considered cinematic, satirical artwork. Gerwig, with writer Noah Baumbach (White Noise, Marriage Story), have outdone themselves.

Of course the movie’s central darlings: Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, are a delight to watch, their chemistry as Barbie and Ken: palpable. Yet I think the narrative, in some ways, belongs to Ken. His character goes through the biggest and most positive character arc, and I found that hopeful. 

As a teenage girl, I sighed in relief when I left the theatre. At last, women were presented through the female lens. Barbie shows girls taking responsibility for themselves and for the world, and it made me feel strong. Some social media personalities have erroneously called the film: “‘Anti-men,’ ‘Anti-feminist,’ ‘Anti-Trans,’ hell, ‘Anti-everything!’” These protestations seem a thinly veiled attempt to regain control. Perhaps the patriarchy was just mad that a conversation about them occurred without their consent. Fancy that!