BARBIE MOVIE!!

[_ghost_]

I didn't see Barbie until long after the hype had died down and everyone I knew had seen it. I had all the spoilers, had seen gifs of all the fan-favorite moments, and had heard all of the criticism for how it handled its themes. I still absolutely loved the film.

Personally I think it's simultaneously heavy-handed and surface level in a lot of its social commentary, but from cultural osmosis I was already expecting that. The script could use a lot of work, and I think the ending narration is distasteful (the part about how someday the Kens might have "almost" the same rights that women do in the real world, which implies that the Barbies were overtly oppressing the Kens and enforcing this binary through violence in a way that is worse than real world misogyny, which just doesn't match at all what is shown in the film). The themes of the film are great, genuinely, but I wish they could've been handled in a more nuanced way. But this is also a huge corporate extravaganza built on a massively popular brand, so I think it honestly exceeds expectations in how directly it's allowed to talk about feminism.

Apart from that, I thought it was really good! On a technical level, it's one of the best films I've seen in a while in regards to costumes, sets, lighting, and camera angles. We have big, choreographed moments. There's a good balance between the big, bright, fun moments and the quieter, more somber scenes that reinforce Barbie's character arc. And the casting is perfect; Margot Robbie in particular was able to add a lot of depth to her character just with her portrayal, and the interactions between Barbie and Ken are so interesting and dynamic. The mother-daughter interactions are really good as well. It's gorgeous, and the cast and crew deserve all of the praise they got and more.

So, overall, I'd say it's a very solid film. The hype around it was definitely more of a pop culture moment than any real indication of the film's ability to endure and to hold up under time and scrutiny, but I really enjoyed it! I definitely think it's worth the watch, if you can handle the dialogue being really on the nose; a lot of the time it felt like the film was telling me what I'm supposed to think about it rather than utilizing subtext. But more than anything it was just a good time. I wish I had gotten to see it in theaters and participate in that whole moment where everything is pink. It looked really fun.