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The original was posted on /r/barbiethemovie by /u/neal1701 on 2023-07-19 06:21:26+00:00.

Barbie - Review Thread

Reviews:

Deadline:

In essence, Barbie is a film that challenges the viewer to reconsider their understanding of societal norms and expectations. While it may be centered on a plastic entity, it is very much a film about the human condition — our strengths and our flaws. It is a reminder that even within the most superficial elements of our culture, there can exist an unexpected depth and an invitation to discourse. Gerwig’s directing is an earnest exploration of identity, societal structures and the courage to embrace change — proving once again that stories can come from the most unusual places.

Hollywood Reporter:

However smartly done Gerwig’s Barbie is, an ominousness haunts the entire exercise. The director has successfully etched her signature into and drawn deeper themes out of a rigid framework, but the sacrifices to the story are clear. The muddied politics and flat emotional landing of Barbie are signs that the picture ultimately serves a brand.

Variety:

It’s kind of perfect that “Barbie” is opening opposite Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” since Gerwig’s girl-power blockbuster offers a neon-pink form of inception all its own, planting positive examples of female potential for future generations. Meanwhile, by showing a sense of humor about the brand’s past stumbles, it gives us permission to challenge what Barbie represents — not at all what you’d expect from a feature-length toy commercial.

Empire (4/5):

Greta Gerwig delivers a new kind of ambitious and giddily entertaining blockbuster that boasts two definitive performances from actors already in their stride. Life after Barbie will simply never be the same again.

The Guardian (3/5):

Greta Gerwig’s bubblegum-fun-cum-feminist-thesis indulges Ken but pulls its punches as it trips between satire and advert

Entertainment Weekly (A-):

The fear is that Hollywood will learn the wrong message from Barbie, rushing to green light films about every toy gathering dust on a kid’s playroom floor. (What’s next, The Funko Pop Movie? Furby: Fully Loaded? We already have a Bobbleheads movie, so maybe we’re already there.) But it’s Gerwig’s care and attention to detail that gives Barbie an actual point of view*,* elevating it beyond every other cynical, IP-driven cash grab. Turns out that life in plastic really can be fantastic.

Collider (A-):

Gerwig has created a film that takes Barbie, praises its contribution as an idea to our world, but also criticizes its faults, while also making a film that celebrates being a woman and all the difficulties and beauty that includes. This also manages to be a film that feels decidedly in line with Gerwig’s previous films as she continues her streak as one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. Barbie could’ve just been a commercial, but Gerwig makes this life of plastic into something truly fantastic.

IGN (9/10):

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is a masterful exploration of femininity and the pressures of perfection. This hyper-femme roller-coaster ride boasts meticulous production design, immaculate casting, and a deep-seated reverence for Barbie herself. Margot Robbie sparkles at the center of the film, alongside Ryan Gosling’s airheaded Ken and America Ferrera’s well-meaning Gloria. Ultimately, Barbie is a new, bold, and very pink entry into the cinematic coming-of-age canon. Absolutely wear your pinkest outfit to see this movie, but make sure you bring tissues along too.

Rolling Stone (4/5):

This is a saga of self-realization, filtered through both the spirit of free play and the sense that it’s not all fun and games in the real world — a doll’s story that continually drifts into the territory of A Doll’s House.

Insider (B+):

“Barbie” offers up a lot of big ideas to ponder, but it frustratingly fails to take a stance on any potential solutions.

Consequence (9/10):

Barbie is a magic trick, a stellar example of a filmmaker taking a well-established bit of corporate IP and using it to deliver a message loudly and clearly. That Greta Gerwig’s third solo film as director also manages to be a giddy, silly, and hilarious time is essential to its power, and the challenge of this review is thus trying to explore how the magic trick works, while still preserving the flat-out awe I have at what it achieves.

The Independent (5/5):

Barbie is joyous from minute to minute to minute. But it’s where the film ends up that really cements the near-miraculousness of Gerwig’s achievement. Very late in the movie, a conversation is had that neatly sums up one of the great illusions of capitalism – that creations exist independently from those that created them. It’s why films and television shows get turned into “content”, and why writers and actors end up exploited and demeaned. Barbie, in its own sly, silly way, gets to the very heart of why these current strikes are so necessary.

The Wrap:

Still, it’s not the aim of “Barbie” to darken your mood as a fun and abundantly populist studio picture, in which Gerwig presents the audience with various Kentastic musical tracks and in one stupendous instance that shouldn’t be spoiled, a friendly middle-finger to Matchbox Twenty through Gosling’s fearless performance. Thanks to Gerwig’s imagination, this “Barbie” is far from plastic. It’s fantastic.

The New York Post (1/4):

The packaging of “Barbie” is a lot more fun than the tedious toy inside the box.

Synopsis:

After being expelled from the utopian Barbie Land for being less-than-perfect dolls, Barbie and Ken go on a journey of self-discovery together to the real world.

Directed by Greta Gerwig

Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach

Cast:

  • Margot Robbie as Barbie
  • Ryan Gosling as Ken
  • America Ferrera as Gloria
  • Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler
  • Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel
  • Different variations of Barbie played by:
    • Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie
    • Issa Rae as President Barbie
    • Hari Nef as Dr. Barbie
    • Alexandra Shipp as Writer Barbie
    • Emma Mackey as Physicist Barbie
    • Sharon Rooney as Lawyer Barbie
    • Dua Lipa as the Mermaid Barbies
    • Nicola Coughlan as Diplomat Barbie
    • Ana Cruz Kayne as Judge Barbie
    • Ritu Arya as Journalist Barbie
  • Different variations of Ken played by:
    • Kingsley Ben-Adir as Ken #1
    • Simu Liu as Ken #2
    • Scott Evans as Ken #3
    • Ncuti Gatwa as Ken #4
    • John Cena as Kenmaid
  • Helen Mirren as the narrator
  • Emerald Fennell as Midge
  • Michael Cera as Allan
  • Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha, Gloria’s daughter
  • Jamie Demetriou as a Mattel employee
  • Connor Swindells as Aaron Dinkins, a Mattel intern
  • Ann Roth as an old woman who meets Barbie