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Barbie (2023)

 



Barbie is a live-action comedy about the titular doll from the United States. 

Greta Gerwig is a well-known Oscar-nominated female director. She directed and wrote Barbie, Lady Bird, and Little Women. There is nothing wrong with the direction of the film, the writing on the other hand has a few issues. Let's get the big issues out of the way because don't get me wrong I really enjoyed the film. There is a lot of post-civil rights feminism in the writing. As the writer she blames the patriarchy but really the rant she wrote was really just pointing out social expectations. There certainly were moments where my eyes had to roll. Especially when the tween in the film spoke like an early twenties diversity major. 

Margot Robbie plays stereotypical Barbie and not the original Barbie. She is great and the film oddly has a lot of emotion for her to work with. The scenes Greta wrote for her were generally great. She has stellar comedic timing as well. Look forward to the next Ocean's Eleven film starring Robbie.

Ryan Gosling has plenty of Travolta moments. He sings, he dances, he cracks a joke, and plays a very dumb and emotional Ken. Ken doesn't have a place in Barbie Land and sort of plays the villain for a while. Some of the best scenes were at his expense. He also has the best musical number that I would love to see performed live at the Oscars this year.

There are other actors in the film but none of them really bring too much to the film other than Kate McKinnon and Will Ferrell. I left the film having enjoyed the experience. Sure there are some cringe moments but the comedy outweighs the preachy moments. It's not for everyone but I'll recommend it. Result: B+

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