Who would have expected a movie about the iconic doll Barbie to have a profound message?
With a consistent pink backdrop, the new “Barbie” movie (which was #1 at the box office this past weekend) - tells the story of the fun-loving doll “Barbie” making an excursion into the real world to find the girl that played with her as a child. But to my surprise, there are really meaningful messages interwoven through Barbie’s adventure to the real world and back to Barbieland.
The cast with Margot Robbie as Barbie, Ryan Gosling as Ken, Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie, and Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler (Barbie’s creator) - did an excellent job of straddling the line between camp and reality. And for those who have criticized Margot Robbie’s casting as Barbie because she’s “not attractive enough” - get a life! Robbie expertly captured the essence of a Barbie doll come to life.
Gosling was physically ripped and definitely captured the different sides of Ken - from submissive Ken to patriarchal Ken. Gosling’s acting was more than adequate and he did a better than average job of singing an acoustic version of the Matchbox Twenty hit “Push.” After Ken discovered that the real world was patriarchal, the Kens sang to the Barbies:
“I wanna push you around
Well, I will, well, I will
I wanna push you down
Well, I will, well, I will
I wanna take you for granted”
“Barbie” is a modern version of the “Battle of the Sexes” and there is a lot of promotion of feminism. Ken gets his shot at being macho, and does not initially make being macho seem like a desirable quality.
The movie is rife with double entendres. The opening scene on the beach is loaded with a conversation about how Ken wants to “beach off!” There is a crude map in the movie that looks like it was drawn by a 7-year-old that touched off controversy because of the positions of some of the countries - as a result, Vietnam and the Philippines banned the movie and Sen. Ted Cruz pushed the idea that the producers of the movie were sucking up to the Chinese Communist Party. But the scenes with the map flash by so quickly that I could not even distinguish what the controversy was about.
“Barbie” is a fun movie and not really for young children. There is nothing in the movie that is inappropriate for younger kids, but the storyline might be too mature for most younger audience members. From teenagers to adult women who played with Barbie dolls when they were young, and for men who want an update on the battle of the sexes, “Barbie” is a fun escape from reality - even if Barbie is trying to navigate her way through it.
The message of the movie is definite - Barbie dolls should not be setting examples of how things are in the real world. I give Mattel a lot of credit for poking fun at itself and setting the record straight on what Barbie dolls represent.
But the real takeaway from the movie is Barbie’s journey in the real world and back to Barbieland when she is trying to figure out who she is. Barbie learns that we all have a purpose and we should strive to find our purpose in life.
Enjoy the movie and have fun - plus, the message is well worth the price of the ticket.
