The narrator of BARBIE tells us at the beginning that before Barbie all dolls were baby dolls. This is followed by a spoof of the beginning of 2001's opening sequence (the first of many film references). (Of course, one may argue that Barbie doesn't seem very grown-up at the beginning of the film either.)
[Disclaimer: I was disinterested in Barbie before it was cool to be disinterested in Barbie.]
It is a pleasure to see some of these excellent actresses (such as Rhea Perlman) from Barbie's earlier days. It's like seeing old friends whom we have not seen for a while.
Everyone has talked about how the movie makes Some salient points about sexism, patriarchy, and consumerism in the real world in the movie, but it seems to overlook the same issues with the sexism, matriarchy, and consumerism in Barbieland (which is yet another parallel world, though unlike most films, in BARBIE we have characters traveling from the world of the imagination to the real world, rather than vice versa). While in the real world, we have scenes of toxic (and non-toxic) masculinity, one can argue that in Barbieland, we have scenes of toxic (and non-toxic) femininity. There are two notable monologues: one is Gloria talking about the problems women face in the real world; the other is Sasha telling Barbie why she is basically evil.
And the key line of the film may well be: "Get in the box." But while the film has several points to be made but eventually the viewer may go into overload. And one problem is that the ending seems to indicate that men are incapable of running things. Is that actually better?
Interestingly, parts of the set design have an "Asteroid City" look, since both use color in very striking ways.
While I am told that this film has many references to familiar films, I have seen only one or two and the rest may be after my time.
There is something ironic about Margot Robbie going from playing the very un-Barbie Tonya Harding in I, TONYA to playing Barbie in this. (And her measurements are all wrong. For one thing, she is three inches too short.)
Released theatrically 9 July 2023. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4), or 8/10.
Film Credits: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1517268/reference
What others are saying: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/barbie
Mark R. Leeper Copyright 2023 Mark R. Leeper