Barbie review

When I started this profile years ago, I honestly thought I'd be doing substantially more of these. I've published plenty of content about movies in general, but very few if any genuine singular film reviews. Granted it was covid so we couldn't go out to watch movies, but there will still plenty of great releases. Uncut Gems, Raya and the Last Dragon, Nobody, so many great films.

PROS:

There are so many positives in this film. All the actors/actresses are great and are all very well cast. And seeing an Asian Ken, as an Asian American who didn't have very many positive, attractive, male Asian idols to look up to on the big screen growing up. This one really hit home for me and was incredible to see. The set designs were incredible and I loved how over the top all the Barbies and Kens were dressed. It did a really good job of capturing just how, cartoonish and out of place the barbies/kens were especially in the real world. This is something I heavily praise the 2017 Wonder Woman film for. Her costume being extremely bright and vibrant, heavily contrasting the dark and gloom environment was amazing to see. The same goes here in Barbie. Barbie's apology to Ken, I deeply respected it. Because two things can be true at once, she can be sorry for neglecting Ken and unintentionally making him feel bad, but also still draw her line in the sand and not wanting anything from Ken outside of friendship. John Cena is literally always a plus, told you there would be spoilers. Now last but not least, America's speech was incredible. I've always loved America, I wasn't a fan of "Ugly Betty", I clearly wasn't their demographic. But man was she great in Superstore. I loved that show so much. Anyways, her speech to the un-brainwashed barbies and her daughter. It was perfect, granted I will never experience what it's like to be a woman in the world. And from what I've been told, it was on point. I also loved how America was still able to make it relatable by just mentioning that she's tired. We can all understand being fatigued and broken down by life's constant struggles. It's perfectly okay to admit that you're tired. We're all only human, and we all need some help every once in a while.

CONS:

I'm very bias against child actors in films, I'm sorry. I'm just a boomer I guess, however I also guess I can be harsh. A good amount of times it's not their fault. Of course there has to be something said about the lack of experience for obvious reasons. But more often than not it's usually just bad writing. a lot of these script writers I guess just forgot what being a kid is like. There are plenty of child actors or roles by children that I think are incredible. One shining example in my opinion is the movie "It". The whole Loser gang was incredible. They really did a good job and they were very well written as actual children. The way they talked, the way they reacted to their environments, just top to bottom great performances all around.

That can't be said however though for Sasha. I HATE that character so much. Nothing against Ariana Greenblatt. Sasha was just a horrible character who was horribly written. I'm not sorry but it's the truth. She was just a JERK and for no reason. I loved America's character and her speech as mentioned above was PERFECT. I don't know the female experience and I never will. But it most certainly has to be discussed. And from what I've been told, America summed it up perfectly. And yet, her daughter for no reason whatsoever was horrible to America. In my opinion had she hated her mother for being a hypocrite, working for a company that objectifies and marginalizes women and has for many years, while telling Sasha she was enough. Perfect motivation for Sasha. Or maybe, subverting expecations and doing a little role reversal, America is so dedicated to the job and providing the best life she can for Sasha. It drives a wedge in her marriage, so Sasha blames her mother for her father leaving. I completely would have understood. Or maybe even Sasha views her mom as a hypocrite, telling her "I promise Sasha, you can be anyone just like Barbie!", while completely forgetting the fact Barbie is an absolutely unrealistic and unachievable goal for women. It's also not just angst, Sasha was just rude and disrespectful and for no good reason and worst of all to her mother where there's no reason for her at all to react that way. That really rubbed me the wrong way.

I also feel like the messages of the film were also very contradictory. Ironic as I just said two things can be true at once. But they can't be contradictory. Smashing the patriarchy, sure. I'm in for it. But then at the end Ruth literally says "We make up these words.. Patriarchy". And throughout the movie the enemy is the partriachy, fair enough. I completely understand. But then at times the message is about self discovery, self acceptance, and so much more. So is the theme "man vs society" or "man vs self"? It was very confusing at times.

And now we move on to the ending, I'm probably going to get a lot of heat for this.. So, I'm sorry in advance but it's my opinion. Feel free to argue with me in the comments section. Barbie is barely 2 hours long, but boy to me. The ending really dragged, I'm not at all complaining about the Ken battle at the end. I'm not the biggest fan of musical acts, but funny enough it did really capture how men resolve problems usually. There's a massive event to blow off some steam, sometimes legitiamtely fighting and sometimes not. And then things kind of just, work themselves out and people are cool again. That was pretty accurate. But then there's the barbies vs the kens, the kens vs the kens, Ruth coming back, America and Sasha still working things out, the Mattel executives being back. It felt really congested towards the end.

IN CONCLUSION:

I don't think I want to do star ratings or anything like that, but I do highly recommend the film. It was a great watch, very entertaining. And there's something I talk about in sports where I say "expectations vs effort" when talking about athletes performances. I wouldn't say my expectations were low, but let's be real. It's a Barbie movie, it was going to be over the top and pretty dumb. And I mean that in a good way. I always hate when people get pretenious about films that aren't all that serious. Calm yourself and enjoy the film for what it is not what you want it to be. Anyways I highly recommend Barbie. It was a much deeper movie than most would expect at face value. Everyone gave their absolute best both in front of the camera and behind. If you haven't seen it yet I highly implore it. It was an absolute blast.

Thank you for your time, I hope you enjoyed what you have read today, feel free to subscribe. I have plenty of different articles on many different topics, if you so choose to check them out. Also if you would be so kind, I would greatly appreciate a heart. Lastly; if you really feel so inclined tips and of course pledges (currently only $2.99 a month) are always appreciated but by no means required.