By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
Beneath a façade of frivolous song and dance numbers, vibrant shades of pink, and nostalgia, lurks a corruptive message of negativity and dark intent. It becomes clear early on that “Barbie” is nothing more than a platform for writer/director Greta Gerwig to spew her vitriolic attitude towards Hollywood and men, forgetting along the way to satisfy a movie’s number one objective: to entertain.
Barbieland is this magical place that seemingly formed from children’s imaginations while playing with the famous dolls, who come to life in this purely matriarchal society where all Barbies hold every prominent position while the Kens just “beach.” When Barbie (Margot Robbie) has an existential crisis, her perfect life is turned upside down, leading to Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) to set her on a course to find the girl playing with her in the real world. The theory being that if Barbie can successfully solve whatever problem is plaguing the girl, she’ll be able to return to the perfect existence without cellulite and flat feet to which she’s grown accustomed.
Tagging along for the ride to the real world is Ken (Ryan Gosling), whose sole existence is to pine for Barbie’s attention. Upon arriving to the real world in California, they’re shocked to find a male dominated society, where Barbie is immediately objectified, and Ken is empowered by the respect and attention he receives. Returning Barbieland to its previous glory becomes exceedingly difficult when Ken returns to show the other Kens what he’s learned. To make matters worse, the executive leaders of Mattel (all men), led by the CEO (Will Ferrell), attempt to fix the rift between worlds by putting Barbie back in her box both figuratively and literally.
To put it bluntly, writer/director Greta Gerwig turns what could have been a fun and touching introspection to find one’s true self into a man-bashing, politically charged propaganda piece that will only act to further divide an already divided nation. She very purposefully and aggressively portrays the Kens as vapid, weak-minded, emotionally fragile, and easily manipulated men with little to no redeemable qualities. Alternately, Gerwig portrays the Mattel corporate men in the real world as strange caricatures of a misogynistic stereotype, incapable of independent thought. Promoting empowering feminism is vitally important in society, but doing so by tearing down all men in the process is counterintuitive and dangerous.
The terrific director of “Lady Bird” and “Little Women” permits a singularly narrow focus on getting her message across, allowing the storyline to be riddled with gaping holes that never get resolved and an internal logic that continually contradicts itself. There were key moments that really harness the mother/daughter relationship, but those become lost in the sloppiness of the filmmaking. What’s left is a confusing mess of silliness with comedy that fizzles after the first 20 minutes when viewers are made painfully aware the ulterior motive behind this male deprecating humor. The most brilliant aspect of “Barbie” was the marketing, which lured audiences on the basis of a light-hearted, nostalgically quirky comedy with a positive message of self-discovery, instead of the preachy, negatively charged propaganda it truly is.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling do an excellent job in their respective roles, however, playing the part in accordance with Greta Gerwig’s vision for which they can’t be blamed. There are moments when Gosling’s comedic talents are allowed to shine, which provide some needed levity. Kate McKinnon of “Saturday Night Live” fame stole the scenes she was in as the weird Barbie who was played with too roughly, creating some of the most amusing moments in the film.
Don’t let the excess of pink and children’s dolls fool you, “Barbie” is not intended for kids to watch. The quality of the film is difficult to stomach in and of itself, but the negative messaging being shoved down viewers’ throats takes it to a sickening level. A more appropriate tagline would be if you hate men this movie is for you.
This movie earns:
