Review: ‘Barbie’ Is Technically Perfect, But Dated in its Y2K-Era Feminism

During the whole, epic promotion for Greta Gerwig’s much anticipated Barbie, inspired by the legendary toy doll, I kept thinking that Warner Bros. must have some serious faith in this comedy for them to go all-out with their marketing budget.

As film fans know, production budgets for film shoots are public info, but the money spent on all the promos are never reported. But the general consensus is that to be a legitimate box-office hit, you have to make over double your production budget in movie tickets.

Now, if the packed screening room and parking lot of my favorite movie theater the past two weeks is anything to go by, Warner Bros. shouldn’t have anything to worry about. In fact, most viewers probably won’t have anything to worry about, if they don’t think too hard about the plot, themes and message of the new comedy.

After all, it’s Barbie! The personification of fun, beauty, brains and success. It would be pretty hard to fail making a movie about such a childhood icon.

In this Barbie movie, Barbie (Margot Robbie) is suddenly hit with an existential crisis that she can’t ignore. The more she dwells on it, the more she realizes how flawed she truly is. ‘Weird Barbie’ (Kate McKinnon) gives her an ultimatum of leaving the perfection of Barbieland for the real world to find which girl playing with a Barbie doll is influencing her mood swing. Barbie’s would-be suitor Ken (Ryan Gosling), tags along because of his own desperation to be involved with her romantically.

America Ferrera and Angela Greenblatt play a mother-daughter duo who guide Barbie through real life, Will Ferrell appears as the fictional head of Mattel, and Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp and Simu Liu make appearances as various Barbies and Kens. Gerwig’s longtime boyfriend and frequent collaborator Noah Baumbach co-wrote the screenplay.

Barbie succeeds on virtually all technical levels. It’s a comedy with funny jokes and gags. The set design and costumes are effective eye candy. The concept and direction eclipse what Olivia Wilde previously attempted with her ill-fated Don’t Worry, Darling (2022). The cast are having a blast with the material, especially Gosling.

Ferrell’s presence, though redundant, is spiritually appropriate to his roles in Jon Favreau’s Elf (2003) and Phil Lord & Chris Miller’s The Lego Movie (2014). There are plenty of clever references for pop culture junkies, particularly with ‘90s culture. The catchy soundtrack is filled with stars like Cyndi Lauper, Indigo Girls, Spice Girls, Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Charli XCX and Billie Eilish. 

Maybe it’s my age or the fact that I watch a ton of movies, but I didn’t think the gender politics or commentary were fresh and if anything felt dated. As an older millennial, much like Gerwig, who grew up when Amy Heckerling’s Clueless (1995) and Robert Luketic’s Legally Blonde (2001) were initially released, I supect that if Barbie had been made 20 years ago, the execution would have been exactly the same.

The ideology of girl power, girl bossing, “yes, queen,” “you go, girl!” feminism from the Y2K era is all over Barbie, and I’m not sure Gerwig or Baumbach realized they were revealing their age a bit here. From my understanding, this line of thinking is considered dated and flawed by Gen Z progressives.

But what’s puzzling is how big the hype for Barbie is and how it successfully got young people excited and seemingly enjoying the movie. It’s doing so well financially, I can’t imagine it’s just impressionable middle school and high school girls or nostalgic moms fangirling.

In this Barbie universe, the Kens are first portrayed as dumb models or jocks who worship the brilliant and strong Barbies. That is, until Gosling’s Ken discovers patriarchy on Earth, inspires all the Kens to be chauvinists and turn their land into Kendom. But when the Barbies successfully fight back for power in Barbieland, the Kens resort back to being Barbie sycophants. The end.

In my fantasy Barbie picture, romance and healthy relationships would exist, and maybe even some baby Barbies, and full time jobs for everyone, with equal options available. The moral of the story would be everyone deserves a chance at happiness. But maybe that’s a message we’ll get in the Polly Pocket movie.