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Movie of the Week #39 - Barbie
Next up of blockbusters is Barbie from 2023 directed by Greta Gerwig which made a whooping $1.4 billion.
Is this a proper blockbuster? Were you caught up in the whole Barbenheimer frenzy?
The rest of the schedule is:
- 29th: Edge of Tomorrow
I liked it. Worth watching at least once, still cute as a second rewatch if you're not expecting to pick up a lot of extra layers or missed details.
Visually, Barbie was fun and pretty. I like Ryan Gosling in comedic roles and Margot Robbie is always gorgeous. Without them as Stereotypical Barbie and Stereotypical Ken the whole project may not have worked. Voice of Helen Mirren delivered at least one laugh out loud joke for me.
It wasn't the most entertaining or the most heartfelt movie of the year. For comparison, of the few movies I watched in 2023 I would pick Dungeons and Dragons as most entertaining, Holdovers as most heartfelt. Most rewatchable would be.....Wes Anderson's Henry Sugar.
(Certainly not the most comedically serious/thought-provoking kind, with a sharp social commentary, like American Fiction, which is totally fine because it was never the aim.)
But, it was probably one of the more ambitious projects of 2023, and I would recommend Barbie on that front. It's funded by Mattel but isn't afraid to bite the hand a little bit. They have to both sing the toy's praises, while acknowledging how not wonderful it can be. Which means when they tie that complexity to the difficulty of being a woman, or being human if you prefer, it was quite nice.
It did make the most money out of everybody in 2023. So that's a good sign for more ambitious non-sequel film making in general, I think.
Interested in what Tildes folks have to say about the Patriarchy vs Matriarchy subplot.
I admit I did not watch it very closely, so maybe this is misplaced, but what I thought was interesting was the default mode for patriarchy was chaos and control, where the default mode for matriarchy was ... indifference?
Set it against something like The Power (the book, I have not seen the TV adaptation), where the overarching theme seems to be that power corrupts no matter who wields it.
I'm for better female and feminist representations in movies, so in that sense, I'm glad it wasn't just objectifying nonsense, which it easily could have been in different hands. Given the historical baggage of Barbie and the need to keep Mattel happy, I think it did okay. But I think a less idealized matriarchy vs patriarchy exploration would have been more interesting.
I think, while the film was definitely saturated in themes around gender roles (not in a bad way), my main takeaway was that its a film about our humanity and identity, and the way the characters grapple with the other themes of the film is in direct support of that idea.
One of the strongest scenes for me was when Barbie met the old woman at the bus stop and told her how beautiful she was, and how the woman's face lit up. It brought a tear to my eye. And then as Barbie is leaving, that happiness is gone on the woman's face. The world is grey again, and shows how moments like that are fleeting.
And then Barbie and Ken's final confrontation in her bedroom. She helps him understand he can just be Ken. There are a lot of things wrapped up in manhood with Ken's struggle in this scene, like the metaphor of Ken's whole meaning of existence is to chase Barbie. But ultimately Barbie helped him understand he is free to choose who he wants to be, not just what it feels like he's "supposed" to be.
Ken learned we can choose who we are and how we live, and I think thats the exact same lesson that Barbie learned too. In real life, our gender is just another battleground we have to navigate in order to learn this for ourselves. Growing up. Death. Our purpose.
That's why I think that while gender roles and stereotypes have strong, prominent themes in the film, they ultimately serve as a lens through which to observe what it means to be human.
Thanks for this. I don't think I ever really think as deeply about movies as this, but it makes me want to go watch it again and pay more attention.
I could not make sense of it.
First we have Barbie land full of intelligent women (Nobel Prize winner, astronaut, president, etc.) and men that are dumb as a rock. Barbie and Ken go to the real world, Ken comes back a little earlier than Barbie. When Barbie arrives home, somehow all these Neanderthals have completely taken over the reign, and now they suppress all these smart and capable women. How did they manage to do that, in such a short period? All that because someone asked Ken for the time in the real world? That does not make sense.
Some part is missing. I liked the movie, I think it was mostly funny and well done, but this was just some unrealistic set up to bash men a bit more. (Unrealistic in the movie world that was created, I mean.)
That whole frenzy seemed like some sort of "pandemic is finally over" mass euphoria. I tried to not get caught up in it out of fear of spoilers as I didn't watch either movie until about 2-3 months after they came out.
Proper blockbuster? Not really sure. Just one year later, it seems like it's had no real staying power. I liked it a lot, and it did something important in bringing (light) feminism more into the mainstream. But outside of the occasional memes, I think it's gone the Avatar route of being a massive financial success but there is practically no discourse or cultural impact outside of some relatively small or niche communities or groups.
PS: I rarely participate in these threads but I do often read them, and really appreciate them, so thank you and keep it up @winther!
I think it is hard to determine lasting impact only a year after. Such things usually comes if it somehow gets rediscovered some years down the line. But you are right that it hasn't exactly sparked anything substantial like the #metoo movement, but it does seem to have pushed a bit to the awareness of various women issues in the movie industry.
The Barbenheimer frenzy was an interesting thing that just sort of happened and likely can't be recreated. I believe it started by movie aficionados, the ones that actually care about the director name on a movie poster, where the notion of both a Nolan and Gerwig movie released at the same time sparked some buzz that spread into the mainstream.
Nah, pandemic had already been well over at that point. Spider-Man: No Way Home had that post-pandemic euphoria but by the time Barbenheimer came around that wasn’t really a factor anymore.
The thing with Avatar is that it did have a cultural impact, and it’s not niche. It’s just heavily mainstream to the point that online fan communities of it don’t exist. It’s very much a general audience thing rather than something we’re used to seeing a lot of online stuff about like Superhero movies.
Even then Barbie doesn’t really fit that bill since it does have pretty heavy online support with countless TikTok edits and memes (which absolutely counts for cultural impact). Even if the initial buzz sort of of faded, doesn’t mean it’s had not staying power. Not that staying power has anything to do with being a blockbuster, you make a billion dollars you’re a blockbuster.
I’m gonna quickly pat myself on the back for predicting that this would be a Best Picture nominee before most were predicting it. As well as predicting it’d be a box office hit (although I never thought it’d make as much as it did).
I liked this enough when it first came out. Gave it a 3.5 on Letterboxd. I thought it was really funny, especially the Ken portions of the film. It’s also just a really easy watch, it’s short and fast paced.
I like a lot of the dialogue, I like that it’s an homage to His Girl Friday and the work of Preston Sturgess with the quick wit of it all. And I like the colors of the real Barbie world.
I always thought the cinematography was lacking. Especially in the real world where it feels like a car commercial. But even the Barbie world stuff doesn’t have anything interesting happening with the camera, most of the visual interest has to do with the production and costume design.
I love the soundtrack to this. From the Dua Lipa song, to the Karol G song, to the Oscar winning Billie Eilish song.
The feminism of it all is fine. The monologue America Ferrera has is reminiscent of the monologue in Little Women although the Little Women monologue felt earned emotionally and was delivered by a stronger actress. And because it wasn’t earned her (Ferrera’s character lacks any development) it comes across as pandering. I think the additional line in Ronan’s monologue in Little Women “but I’m so lonely” also gives that speech humanity which the Barbie speech lacks.
I’m in a weird position with this film where I liked it less than a lot of people when it came out, and now that’s it’s sustained backlash for a while I like it more than a lot of people. Despite my opinion on the film never changing. I’m sure it’ll eventually swing back the other way.
Is it odd if I felt like the monologue wasn't unearned: because I feel like every woman has basically earned that monologue through life? Like I had no issues with a lack of an arc (from imagining to action does count IMO) because she was voicing things I've talked and thought about for a long time.
You can feel about it however you’d like. That’s my issue though is that it’s written for people to sort of nod their heads to but because it doesn’t really work to get to that moment I think it can take people out of the movie. I had a female friend of mine enjoying the film and then said she got sucked out of it in that moment.
It works differently for different people, but it feels like the films momentum stops for that monologue rather than bringing it to an emotional climax like it should have, like the Little Women monologue did.
Yeah I didn't experience that "sucked out of the movie" at all in that moment (or any moment) especially given the whole thing was rather meta. Not sure why but it didn't grind everything to a halt for me, it felt like earned frustration leading to catharsis. But perhaps it was the meta commentary angle that made it all work for me. I don't know if you can feel the same halt to a film that is (enjoyably imo) winking at the camera the whole time.
The whole film is very self aware and meta, so I agree that the monologue doesn't feel out of place. I haven't rewatched it yet, will get around to it later this week and maybe my perspective will change a bit, but my main issue with the feminist angle (and the monologue) was that it felt almost dated. If this movie came out 10 years ago, it would have been massively groundbreaking and on the forefront on many things. Now it is more like it is mostly catching up to modern feminism and it still says in a very binary gender role understanding of the world. However, it does seem like the general ideas still needed to be pushed to a wider more mainstream audience and the movie deserves some credit for that alone at least.
This is a tangent but it might help me explain my thoughts. When the musical Six came out, a content maker I enjoyed expressed thoughts along the lines of "ugh I thought we did the whole rah feminism thing already, is there nothing deeper they could have done?" And while I get it, they are feminist and were expressing exhaustion and frustration, I think they were incredibly short-sighted and jaded, because while they had experienced "rah feminism" everyone hadn't, especially younger folks who fell in love with the songs and twist on history.
For me I think that yeah, Barbie didn't say anything new to people having those conversations but it said them, which is by itself less common in movies, and for some people I think it hit harder because it was their first time (or I think for myself it was particularly cathartic).
Reading an article today about the toxic masculinity of the RNC and MAGA movement, where even the women who've been touted in the past were being ignored, I figure there are some young women in particular out there who are needing to hear this message. And it still felt good to me to hear so I'm not coming from a place of feeling better or more educated or anything.
Oh yes, I agree with everything here. What this movie has achieved beyond the theater is admirable and praiseworthy. I have sort of come to like the movie more after I saw it a year ago because of everything that came in its wake. But as a regular lover of films, I also think there is a need to separate the movie from its message. A movie that covers an important topic or has a good message isn't necessarily a good movie. Of course that is all down to personal preference, and I tend to prefer movies that conveys their themes in more subtle ways, so there is more room for myself to be in doubt and think about the issues with my own frame of reference. For example, a movie like Le Bonheur from 1965 had a greater impact on me in terms of putting disturbing thoughts about gender roles into my head - whereas Barbie was mostly surface level. That doesn't take anything away from those where Barbie made a bigger impression on them.
As someone that isn't a big movie buff, I think that you hit the nail on the head. Le Bonheur may have struck deeper, but most people (myself included) won't have seen a 60 year old film in French
I didn't want to like this movie. It was a typical over-hyped affair in my mind. Reviews were plentiful and trying to warp my bias from the get go.
However, within about 15 minutes I was hooked. Everyone else has added their thoughts and I cannot better them. It is genuinely funny, from the heart and a great all round crowd pleaser. It knows it's not serious, but it does have a serious undertone.
Great choice.
Great movie. Also worth doing it with the commentary track with Gerwig.
I saw it in theaters with my mom and had fun, but I think the hype set my expectations a bit too high. It was definitely fun though! That chase scene at the Mattel offices was great, we need more goofy sequences like that in films again.
My mom, meanwhile, LOVED it. Loved it enough to go see it again with her friends, and kept raving about it. I ended up getting her the DVD for Christmas so she can watch it whenever she wants. (Well, almost. My PS4 is now the only working DVD player in our house, so... Yeah. Still gotta ask me to get it playing xD)
Seeing it again knowing what type of movie it is helped and I like it a bit more this time around. I still think it lacks subtlety and that is mostly catching up to the last decade of feminism, but the way it gets there is just extremely well done and admirable. The production design is amazing and even though Poor Things also did amazing things, I do think this deserved the Oscar for that. Margot and Ryan are perfect in their roles, with the whole exaggerated way of acting basically parodies of their characters.
When it is funny it is really funny, but sometimes the timing isn't exactly there and I think too many of the jokes are made for the trailer and fell off in the narrative of the movie. Especially the scenes in the Mattel headquarters. The chase scene is mostly dumb and not funny, though Will Ferrel is great as the very childish CEO.
I also went through the commentary by Gerwig and it is mostly funny anecdotes and various interesting tidbits about the production design choices. I do wish she went deeper into her ideas and thoughts on the themes and message of the movie though.