Barbie

2023 Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 54min

Comedy ~ Fantasy

Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell.

“Barbie has a great day everyday, Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him.”

Barbie opens with a scene of little girls playing with baby dolls, narrated by Helen Mirren. She explains the history of dolls for little girls and how there were only baby dolls in the beginning. You could only take care of the baby dolls and they never grew up. Then along came Barbie, designed and created by Ruth Handler and manufactured by her Toy Business Mattel she owned with her husband Elliot. Barbie hit the market in 1959 and changed the toy doll market. There have been over a billion Barbie’s sold and over 125 different models. Barbie was named after Ruth Handler’s daughter Barbara, and Ruth got the idea after watching her play with paper dolls and role-play adult scenarios. After a brief history we land in Barbie Land where……..

Barbie (Margot Robbie) is waking up to her best day everyday, in her pink bed, in her pink playhouse, in her pink neighborhood, in her pink world. All the other Barbie’s wake up and wave to each other as they go about their jobs and lives in the Barbie dominated Barbie Land. Where Ken (Ryan Gosling) and all the other Ken’s try to get Barbie’s attention, feeling inadequate if they can’t. Ken was introduced by Mattel in 1961 and was named after Ruth Handler’s son Kenneth. Ken is starting to have serious doubts about his life and his role in Barbie’s female Barbie dominated land, as she hardly ever wants to spend time with him. All Ken wants is to get close to Barbie and be her boyfriend but she is always too busy being spectacularly Barbie.

When Barbie starts to have mortal feelings about death and notices uncharacteristic changes in her appearance, she decides she needs to go see Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) and get her advice. Weird Barbie has been abused by her owner and her hair is chopped, her face is painted weird colors and she is in a permanent “split” position. Weird Barbie tells her that she has to go to The Real World and find the human that is playing with her in real life or that things will get worse for her, she might end up disfigured like Weird Barbie. Barbie decides that that is what she must do, says goodbye to all the Barbies and set out in her pink Corvette.

As she leaves the Barbie Land border she is surprised by Ken who was hiding in the back seat. She agrees that she might need his help in the real world and lets him come with her as they travel by Corvette to Speedboat to Rocket Ship to Tandem Bicycle to VW Camping Van to Snowmobile, which is the only way to get to the real world from Barbie Land. They emerge roller blading in Venice Beach in brightly colored outfits and quickly get into trouble as they are unfamiliar with the workings of the real world. Barbie is uncomfortable with all the male attention and wolf-calling while Ken is basking in all the attention he never got in Barbie Land.

And what follows is the journey through the real world trying to find her owner as Barbie deals with feelings she never had, and Ken discovers that men have the upper hand in the real world. He decides that that is the way things should be in Barbie Land, that Barbies should be there for Kens and not the other way around. Which leads to pure turmoil in Barbie Land as Barbie is trying to right things with her owner so she can return to normal as Normal Barbie. It is an interesting look at the Barbie phenomenon and culture, and also the role of men and women in our society. And how that role is changing and how we perceive each other as men and women.

I am a guy and was never into Barbie or Ken but it was part of the culture growing up. It is not something I would have watched, but given my new role as Movie Reviewer I felt it necessary. I am glad I did, it is an interesting story and is thought provoking on the whole Male/Female stereotypical roles in society aspect. One woman’s desire to build a toy doll more realistically adult for her daughter changed the toy doll industry and helped transform women’s roles in societies by their portrayal of Barbie’s different professions and material success by Jobs previously held only by men.

And you have to love the star power. Margo Robbie did a great job as Barbie, and Kate McKinnon as weird Barbie was humorous but great, but Ryan Gosling as Ken, awesome! I felt his pain, he made me laugh, he must have had a great time playing Ken because it shows in his performance. So yes, I’d say even if you hate Barbie it’s worth a watch.

There is a Netflix Documentary about the addition of Black Barbie to the Mattel Barbie line in 1980. Thanks to three black women who worked at Mattel and were instrumental in making Black Barbie become a reality. It is Titled BLACK BARBIE.

There is a “Selfie” generator on The Official Barbie Website where you can take a selfie with Barbie, just for fun.

Two Thumbs up.