The Barbie movie is a very mixed bag. It tries to appeal to both young girls and adults it seems, but this leads it to be very inconsistent with its humor. Margot Robbie does a fantastic job as Barbie and especially the opening works really well in highlighting the absurdity of Barbie's world, where its houses are all open and have no stairs, and its showers have no water and the fridge is filled with a drawing of groceries. All that works fantastic. But mixed into this is a lot of adult humor and sexual innuendo, which makes for a strange mix. It isn't until after the first act, where the movie tries to be more than just a movie about toys, that it kind of falls apart.
The Barbie movie has a lot to say about gender rolls, and that is probably a healthy thing for the audience (even men) to think about. But if you are a male viewer, and if all you took from this movie is that "it hates men", then you completely missed the point. The movie critiques the role of men and women in society and it also critiques Barbie dolls and their depiction of what a girl should be. It pokes fun at it, while never completely turning against Barbie as a product. This is a Barbie movie after all. That this toy movie tries to be more than what one might expect out of such a film, is a good thing, including criticizing gender stereotypes. But the execution leaves more to be desired.
There is plenty to critique about the Barbie movie that is valid. The Barbie movie tries to do a lot of things, and especially towards the third act it becomes kind of a mess. The movie could have benefited from a bit more focus. Instead, it is all over the place.
Just the plot of Barbie and Ken being confronted with the real world, probably would have been enough for a whole movie. But to the movie's credit, it wants to be more than what the audience expects out of a Barbie movie. I would argue, too much.
There's the plot of Mattel trying to capture Barbie, with the awkwardness of a Mattel product (what this movie is) critiquing Mattel. It never feels entirely earnest.
Then there's the plot of Barbie seeking out the child she belongs to and reconnecting with her. This plot works the best, but it is kind of undermined by everything else that is going on.
Then there's the side plot of Barbie meeting her creator, which at first feels like a random easter egg, but then later is brought back again towards the end of the movie, without really fitting in with all the other plots. The Barbie movie is very inconsistent regarding which world is magical and which is not. At first it seems as if Barbie-land is the place that is magical and unrealistic, which during the opening is the source of a lot of humor. Once Barbie and Ken visit the real world, the contrast leads to more humor. But then they start mixing in magical elements in the real world, and things become very messy. Such as Mattel having a mysterious floor where Barbie's deceased creator is still alive. This is later explained away as a haunting with a throw away line, but that doesn't quite explain it either. The movie seems to forget which of the two was the magical world and this ends up undermining the world building. It was a side plot we didn't need in the first place.
Then there is the plot of Ken realizing men rule the world and learning traditional male stereotypes, and then bringing all that back to Barbie-land. This plot feels a bit disjointed. It ends up dragging the third act back to Barbie-land, when it feels all that belongs to stay in the first act. Everything with Barbie trying to make the other Barbies remember who they are, and revisiting ugly Barbie, should have been cut. It feels like a whole extra movie tacked onto a movie that already has plenty going on.
All in all, it is a bit of a mess storywise. This script could have used a bit more editing. Also, it ends on a joke about Barbie looking forward to her first visit to a gynaecologist, which is a bit of low hanging fruit. When you try so hard to make a movie that has something to say about gender rolls, this is probably not the line should end on. Suddenly the story about a deleted elaborate farting scene makes a lot more sense.
As a comedy movie, you can't aim for a high bar story wise, when your movie's comedy is aiming for the lowest bar. It doesn't seem to work.
The Barbie movie has a lot to say about gender rolls, and that is probably a healthy thing for the audience (even men) to think about. But if you are a male viewer, and if all you took from this movie is that "it hates men", then you completely missed the point. The movie critiques the role of men and women in society and it also critiques Barbie dolls and their depiction of what a girl should be. It pokes fun at it, while never completely turning against Barbie as a product. This is a Barbie movie after all. That this toy movie tries to be more than what one might expect out of such a film, is a good thing, including criticizing gender stereotypes. But the execution leaves more to be desired.
There is plenty to critique about the Barbie movie that is valid. The Barbie movie tries to do a lot of things, and especially towards the third act it becomes kind of a mess. The movie could have benefited from a bit more focus. Instead, it is all over the place.
Just the plot of Barbie and Ken being confronted with the real world, probably would have been enough for a whole movie. But to the movie's credit, it wants to be more than what the audience expects out of a Barbie movie. I would argue, too much.
There's the plot of Mattel trying to capture Barbie, with the awkwardness of a Mattel product (what this movie is) critiquing Mattel. It never feels entirely earnest.
Then there's the plot of Barbie seeking out the child she belongs to and reconnecting with her. This plot works the best, but it is kind of undermined by everything else that is going on.
Then there's the side plot of Barbie meeting her creator, which at first feels like a random easter egg, but then later is brought back again towards the end of the movie, without really fitting in with all the other plots. The Barbie movie is very inconsistent regarding which world is magical and which is not. At first it seems as if Barbie-land is the place that is magical and unrealistic, which during the opening is the source of a lot of humor. Once Barbie and Ken visit the real world, the contrast leads to more humor. But then they start mixing in magical elements in the real world, and things become very messy. Such as Mattel having a mysterious floor where Barbie's deceased creator is still alive. This is later explained away as a haunting with a throw away line, but that doesn't quite explain it either. The movie seems to forget which of the two was the magical world and this ends up undermining the world building. It was a side plot we didn't need in the first place.
Then there is the plot of Ken realizing men rule the world and learning traditional male stereotypes, and then bringing all that back to Barbie-land. This plot feels a bit disjointed. It ends up dragging the third act back to Barbie-land, when it feels all that belongs to stay in the first act. Everything with Barbie trying to make the other Barbies remember who they are, and revisiting ugly Barbie, should have been cut. It feels like a whole extra movie tacked onto a movie that already has plenty going on.
All in all, it is a bit of a mess storywise. This script could have used a bit more editing. Also, it ends on a joke about Barbie looking forward to her first visit to a gynaecologist, which is a bit of low hanging fruit. When you try so hard to make a movie that has something to say about gender rolls, this is probably not the line should end on. Suddenly the story about a deleted elaborate farting scene makes a lot more sense.
As a comedy movie, you can't aim for a high bar story wise, when your movie's comedy is aiming for the lowest bar. It doesn't seem to work.
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