Barbie

_Barbie_ reels you in with its silly humor and fantastical ideas. The war of Kens during the last half hour of the film is an all-timer because a battle full of handsome maneuvers, like showing off their naked chest and manly noogies, turns into a full on dance off between Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu. But the second half of the film leaves a thought-provoking message in your brain regarding both men and women. The Kens gaining respect little by little mirrors how women eventually earned their r…

I took my daughter along to see this, naively expecting light, family friendly fun and well, its not. Not even a little. The kindest way I can describe this monstrosity is mean spirited, misandry. The message is simply not one I want my child taking on board. My daughter wanted to leave before I'd even suggested it, so we did and had a better time doing something else together. In summary, in my opinion, nasty and spiteful. Hollywood deserves its declining viewership, if this is all it …

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.firstshowing.net/2023/review-greta-gerwigs-barbie-is-both-hilarious-thought-provoking/ "Barbie is hilariously meta, containing spectacularly funny musical numbers, and an efficient tonal balance between over-the-top comedy and rich, thought-provoking social commentary. Inevitable awards are on the way for the brightly colored production design, costumes, and makeup. Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's narrative unapologetically tackles quite serious topi…

Terrible movie with no plot. The film is marketed as a light hearted family film but instead focuses on adult themes while pushing an extremist feminist agenda which mocks traditional family values and men. The only enjoyable parts of this movie are the scenes with Ken, played by Ryan Gosling.

CinemaSerf

July 26, 2023

7/10

"Thus Spake Zarabarbie" - that's the opening message as narrated by Dame Helen Mirren who gives us a potted history of the doll - from it's origins as an inanimate plaything of young girls to it's current status as an empowering conduit for young girls to emerge into society as uninhibited and aspirational beings with only the sky as the limit. Well, that's the philosophy in Margot Robbie's "Barbieland". A sterile sort of environment that lives it's life along the lines of a pink "Groundhog Day"…

This was an _excellent_ film that left me emotionally stretched in just the right way. It's an adult movie with childhood references (not a kids' film at all), and seems pitched at people roughly my age (Matchbox 20 referenced as a track for wooing is too close for comfort!) It _superbly_ voices the internal contradictions women need to navigate to be accepted. It works hard not to centre Ken, even while his role is a critical counterpoint, but also gives a little airtime to how much a male-domi…

“Heavy is the arm that wears its heart on its sleeve.” That’s the best way to sum up this overwritten, overlong, stunningly obvious treatise on gender equality, consumerism and existentialism, whose messages get beaten to death beginning early on and never let up, an exhausting experience, to be sure. Writer-director Greta Gerwig’s latest offering, co-written with collaborator Noah Baumbach, features a dreadful script that’s about as subtle as a young adult novel, drones on and on and on for abo…

McKinnon and Gosling's acting is great, and the dance numbers are really well done. But the story is very weak -- the Gloria/Sasha tie-in felt ham-fisted and the 'bonding' Barbie has at the end with Ruth makes no sense in the context of the rest of the film. It also doesn't help that throughout the whole movie you're being hit over the head with a message that they *really* want to make sure you understand (how many times can you say 'patriarchy'?) Not recommended.