Film Review — Barbie
Greta Gerwig’s feminist celebration and satire of Mattel’s iconic doll is a lot of fun
I give top marks to the marketing people behind the promotion of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Not only did they position this as a feminist fable for people who both love and hate Barbie, but they also won over dyed-in-the-wool cineastes like yours truly with a hilarious teaser parodying the beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey. That’s before I even mention the whole “Barbenheimer” thing on social media (I get into it here, if you’re interested).
The 2001 scene — hilariously narrated by Helen Mirren — opens Barbie, as it is explained that up to a certain point, little girls only played with baby dolls. But then, with the monolith-like arrival of Barbie, girls dispensed with their baby toys. Thus, as Mirren says: “Thanks to Barbie, all problems of feminism and equal rights have been solved.”
Afterwards, we’re introduced to “Stereotypical Barbie” (Margot Robbie, whose immaculate casting is even the punchline of a perfectly timed meta joke). She exists in Barbieland, a dazzlingly bright, profoundly pink, retina-scorching matriarchal utopia alongside various other Barbies. These include President Barbie, Supreme Court Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, Nobel Prize-winning author Barbie, and so on. Barbieland is multi-racial…
