A few weeks ago, I talked a bit about the Barbie movie in the comments. I thought it was a mixbag. One of the comments asked me to make a full review of the movie and another asked me what Freedom and Safety thought about it. I saw the movie again during the holiday and it was a little better the second time around. Allow me to elaborate. Heads up, there’s gonna be some mild spoilers.
Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first. The movie doesn’t know if it wants to be a serious discussion about gender inequality or just a goofy story about a children’s toy. It has two different tones that don’t blend together successfully. The movie also contradicts itself on several occasions. Why is it wrong when everyone in charge of Mattel is a man, but okay when everyone in charge of Barbieland is a woman? Why does the movie talk about how horrible the patriarchy is, but also portray it as perpetual party where both men and women are having fun? Maybe I’m taking it too seriously, but the movie is taking itself seriously. Either tone down the political preaching or make it more consistent.
Despite my gripes, there is a lot to enjoy about the movie. I really like how the movie looks. The outfits and the sets are very creative and colorful. I just had to draw Freedom and Safety wearing two of the outfits. The movie has a lot of references to the Barbie franchise and its history. While I only have basic knowledge of it, I can confidently say that Barbie fans would have as much fun watching the movie as I did while watching the Super Mario movie.
Another thing I like is the the humor. For a movie about a children’s toy, there’s a surprising amount of adult jokes. They’re well executed; it’s not just vulgarity with no wit, there’s thought put into the jokes. There are a lot of jokes about the Barbie franchise, but they’re not too mean spirited. You can tell that the writers really like Barbie. My favorite part is the “I’m Just Ken” song. It manages to be both silly and empowering. It’s one of the few moments where the goofy and the serious tone come together in harmony. Despite my complaints about the hypocrisy, I do think there’s some good morals in the movie, as you can see in the comic I drew.
Overall, I can see how the movie got its “love it or hate it” reputation. I understand both perspectives. Ultimately, I believe the good slightly outweighs the bad. And before you ask, “The movie made over a billion dollars, how can it be controversal?”, Michael Bay’s Transformers and the Twilight movies also made a lot of money. Successful doesn’t mean universally beloved.
P. S. Ken’s (and Freedom’s) hoodie has the colors of the pansexual flag. I only noticed that after I finished drawing. Ken smiled and laughed when two men kissed him, so that could’ve been intentional.