In a time of growing anti-consumerism and the increasing irrelevance of gender, Greta Gerwig signed up to spin a feature-length film out of what many see as a shallow and retrograde consumer product. The results are mixed.
is well aware of these critiques—and it makes hay of them, especially in its snappy first act. The jokes and cameos come fast and furious, tongue hard in cheek and winks aplenty. “What started as a lady in a bathing suit turned into the idea that women can be anything,” narrator Helen Mirren intones in the film’sprologue, the camera surveying Barbies of different professions and colors over the decades.
The rosy splendor of the eternally upbeat Barbie Land, where the film begins, is a joy to behold, from the cul-de-sac of Barbie dream houses to Ken and Stereotypical Barbie’s matching costumes. But all is not well in the land of pink. Thoughts of mortality suddenly creep into Barbie’s mind. Her perpetually arched feet fall flat, and a sprinkling of cellulite surfaces on her thighs.
The rest is, for the most part, as smooth and pleasant as a ride in Barbie’s engineless convertible. Yet a handful of moments exhaust with gratuitous zaniness, and unnecessary plots and gags eventually bog down the buzz. The cast is also perhaps too chock full, giving some characters dismaying short shrift .is actually a treatise on gender inequality.
Setting aside the question of whether an air-conditioned multiplex in peak summer is the best setting to ponder feminism, however,makes an admirable effort to introduce the concept to wide swaths of audiences the world over. Still, presenting a satisfying vision of it remains a tricky endeavor, as we’ve painfully come to realize
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