Barbie Review

Barbie was one of the summer’s biggest releases, with Greta Gerwig’s feature being memed all over the internet due to its release on the same day as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. With this scheduling coincidence, it became very popular for people to see both films on the same day, an internet phenomenon known as Barbenheimer. This review, however, focuses on Barbie, so let’s move onto the subject matter at hand in this article.

One of the best things, by far, about this movie was the use of comedy. The well-written dialogue had impeccable timing, and I can remember the entire cinema hall bursting out in laughter with every character’s hilarious remarks. The production design was also brilliant - I loved the pink aesthetics and the dollhouse theme throughout Barbieland. I also really liked how ridiculous the whole plot was, from her entering the real world to the ludicrous interactions with other Barbies and Kens throughout the film. Finally, I really liked the film’s soundtrack, with a mix of dance bops and more serious songs.

The best thing about it, though, was the performance by the movie’s leads - Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Gosling, in particular, utilised delivery, facial expressions, and dialogue in making his performance so earnest and enjoyable; I thoroughly enjoyed his “I’m Just Ken” musical sequence. His vocals added heart and soul to the song, making it even more relatable.

My only gripe with the film was the lack of depth in exploring the themes that contextualise the piece in the modern world. Seeing the theme of the matriarchy versus the patriarchy was interesting, though I do wish we could have seen more of it. I really would have liked to see the theme of mental health explored further, and I’d have loved further exploration of the internal conflict of Gloria (America Ferrera), a Mattel employee who helps Barbie. I also wish we could have seen more of Simu Liu as Ken and Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film and would give it an 8.7/10. It was a very fun watch with a ridiculous plot and a superb performance by Ryan Gosling; but its efforts to include some modern-day themes don’t do it enough for me to rate it higher.