Barbie is silly on the surface, but has a much deeper message

Warner Bros. Pictures

The Barbie doll has become an iconic toy and collectible since its introduction in 1959, a different kind of doll than what young girls usually played with until that time — baby dolls. But Barbie burst onto the scene and really changed the game, expanding the market to older girls who didn’t want to play mommy to their baby dolls any more. All of this is cleverly explained in the opening scene of Barbie, which re-tells the genesis of the doll in a prologue spoofing the classic opening prologue of 2001: A Space Odyssey, with ‘important’ narration by Helen Mirren. Important because she’s British. Right from the start, this prologue tells us that (a) this movie is probably going to be smarter than we thought, and (b) it’s probably not going to be for kids.

From there, though the film takes us right to Barbie Land and introduces us to all of the various Barbies created over the years, including some that have been discontinued like Pregnant Midge. (Yes, all of the doll characters depicted in the film are real Mattel dolls.) Later in the film we also meet Growing Up Skipper (her breasts enlarged when you pulled on her arm), Sugar Daddy Ken (Sugar was his dog) and Magic Earring Ken. Again, these were actual dolls available to purchase! But the focus is on Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie), the first, the classic, with her Dream House and Dream Car (and as in real life, there is no water from the shower and no actual food in the fridge). Barbie Land is full of Kens as well, one of whom (Ryan Gosling) pines for Stereotypical Barbie and the other (Simu Liu) who likes to just rag on him especially after Ken runs into the plastic waves as he hopes to impress Barbie with his Beach skills (leading to a hilarious moment of the Kens threatening to ‘beach off’ each other — see, not really for kids). But Barbie is oblivious to Ken’s feelings, and that becomes brutally apparent when she has a girls night at the Dream House and callously tells Ken she’s just not that into him.

But Barbie begins to behave differently, she has irrepressible thoughts of death, which freaks out her friends, and then … her feet go flat, she can feel cold water from the shower, the cream in her coffee has soured. What’s going on? Barbie tells her she needs to go see Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), the one who’s been played with too much, to find out why she’s experiencing these human feelings. Weird Barbie explains that Barbie’s human’s feelings have somehow crossed into Barbie Land, and now Barbie must go into the Real World and help her human so she can get her arched feet back. Barbie wants no part of this but she has no choice so she hops in the Dream Car and begins the long, bizarre trip … with Ken who has stowed himself in the back seat. Once they get a taste of the Real World, their own thoughts of the place are turned upside down — girls hate Barbie for giving them negative self-image issues, and Ken learns that the patriarchy rules the world. Barbie is surprised when she finds her human is an adult, Gloria (America Ferrera), and not the daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), and learns just what women in this world actually have to experience. It’s almost too much for her, and things get worse when the Mattel CEO (Will Ferrell) gets wind that a Barbie has entered the real world (not so much Ken though), hoping to avoid another Skipper incident. Ken hightails it back to Barbie Land and transforms it into his Kendom, while Barbie, her humans and the Mattel suits follow in the hopes of setting things right. But will they be too late?

I think a lot of people are going to be surprised by Barbie. The movie has been marketed very well, appealing to the brightly colored Barbie Land, spotlighting iconic parts of the Barbie world, and giving just a hint of the goofy ‘fish out of water’ story when Barbie and Ken enter the Real World. But even if you have just the slightest bit of knowledge about the works of Greta Gerwig (director and writer) and Noah Baumbach (writer), then you should know that there will be more to Barbie than meets the eye. You know that old adage about not judging a book by its cover? This movie is the perfect example. As written, the opening scenes in Barbie Land are a nice mixture of satire and homage, pointing out the ridiculousness of the notion of a land of living dolls but it nicely balances with the homage Gerwig and Baumbach are paying to the toy. But once the characters get into the Real World, the satire moves to the background as Barbie deals with the reality of how she, as a doll, has actually hurt people who found it impossible to live up to the Barbie ideal. On the opposite side, Ken has spent a life trying to impress Barbie only to be rebuffed because he’s ‘just Ken’, accepting his fate that he and the other Kens (and Alan) will always be second class citizens of Barbie Land. No one even knows where the Kens live! But his experience of existing in a man’s world, the patriarchy of the Real World, turns Barbie Land upside down, giving Barbie another existential crisis to deal with. It’s all written so well, but never with a heavy hand. And you have to also give Mattel some credit for allowing Gerwig and Baumbach to tell this story, to actually poke some merciless fun at the company, and for giving a pivotal role to Barbie’s creator Ruth Handler (Rhea Perlman). This is a movie that will make you laugh, cry and think.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Margot Robbie is perfectly cast as Barbie, eternally cheerful until she isn’t, filled with emotion when she encounters Gloria and Sasha and learning how women are treated in real life, but still bringing some slapstick to the part as she tries to evade the Mattel CEO and his underlings (all male, by the way, which is also pointedly addressed). Robbie gets to play the full gamut of emotions and she does it extremely well. I can’t even imagine what the first attempt at a Barbie movie would have looked like if it had progressed with Amy Schumer in the role. Ryan Gosling is also perfection as Ken, the dope who pines for Barbie and who believes his only job is Beach. Ken’s rivalry with Ken (Simu Liu) takes things to a new level when Ken and his Kens and Ken and his Kens meet up in a dance off. It brought me such joy to see more serious actors like Gosling and Liu doing elaborate music video-style choreography not once, but twice (they are amazing in the Girls Night dance party). Gosling brings much enthusiasm to the party when Ken gets a taste of the patriarchy, and no matter how macho Ken tries to be in his Kendom, Gosling lets us know that Ken is still that lost puppy dog just waiting for some attention from Barbie.

America Ferrera and Ariana Greenblatt are perfect as mother and daughter, both going through their own changes after meeting Barbie, but Ferrera delivers a speech about sexism in the real world that is just jaw-dropping and so on point thanks to that great writing. Will Ferrell is also a hoot as the Mattel CEO. The supporting cast is huge, but I have to point out the brilliance of Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie, doing what Kate McKinnon does best. She has to tread a fine line without going completely over-the-top and she knows how to balance everything. Issa Rae is perfection as President Barbie, and she has two lines in the movie that made me laugh out loud with her on the nose comic timing. Emma Mackey, Alexandra Shipp, Hari Nef and Sharon Rooney are also stand-outs. For the Kens, Simu Liu is great as Ken’s bully, basically, and Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa (the new Doctor Who) and Scott Evans (Chris’ brother) all make good impressions as their various Kens (the film’s credit are hilarious with the actors roles listed as just Barbie or Ken). And Michael Cera as the forgotten Alan doll is so funny. Rhea Perlman … wow, what a performance she gives. It was her final scene with Barbie that had me holding back tears because of the kindness and love she projected. If Judi Dench could win an Oscar for her seven minutes of screen time in Shakespeare in Love, then Perlman could win for her two scenes in Barbie.

Gerwig’s direction easily balances the silly with the real issues the film tackles, and her insistence on building Barbie Land and not relying on CGI to create the place is commendable. Sarah Greenwood’s production design from Barbie’s Dream House to Skipper’s tree house to Weird Barbie’s weird house is spectacular, while it also does a great job with the Mattel offices scenes which are flat grey, Jacqueline Durran’s costume design also perfectly nails each and every Barbie outfit right down to the neon rollerblading outfits and skintight ‘Western’ gear Barbie and Ken wear in the Real World. The music by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, as well as the songs (particularly that Dua Lipa earwig) adds to the film’s atmosphere.

I’m sure there will be some people out there complaining about Barbie — okay, there already are with Ted Cruz obsessing about a map barely seen in the film, and Matt Gaetz’s girlfriend complaining that Ken is ‘low T’ which is code for ‘effeminate’ — but this film is so well-crafted that you really can’t complain. So put aside any preconceived notions you have about the movie, and just let the whole Barbie experience wash over you. But think twice before bringing younger children. They’ll love the early Barbie Land parts of the film, but the Real World and Kendom scenes might be a bit much for the pre-teens.

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Barbie has a run time of 1 hour 54 minutes, and is rated PG-13 for suggestive references and brief language.