Barbie : many promises…
The opening of Barbie multiplies the promises to the viewer. Promises of staging, since the feature film takes up the introduction of 2001, a space odyssey. While the first prehistoric minutes of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece revealed the discovery of the instrument, those of Greta Gerwig’s film reveal the revolutionary discovery made by girls of an independent doll, capable of anything, which finally allows them to play something different from their mother. A parody that therefore also promises humor as well as an ironic and irreverent tone that the director and screenwriter has been able to masterfully interpret ladybug.
These promises seem to materialize when, after this first sequence, Barbie presents the wonderful world of Barbieland. An enchanted universe where the Barbies are in power and relive the same day, the same shower without water, the same plastic breakfast, the same collection of smiles and the same party punctuated by the same choreography. The universe is reduced to a few repetitive frames, so wonderfully immersing itself in a child’s imagination capable of creating a whole world in his room with his toys.
The musical numbers are catchy, the Kens are delightfully goofy, and Margot Robbie confirms she’s both the perfect embodiment of a doll in the midst of an existential crisis and one of the greatest actresses of her generation, although there was absolutely no doubt about that. When she starts thinking about death and her heels start to hit the ground, Barbie makes a new promise: that of the discovery of a real world steeped in disillusionment, where the fantasy of women’s emancipation desired by the doll created by Ruth Handler is only a sad mirage, where patriarchy is exercised in discretion and where embarrassment, lack reigns self-confidence and social pressure.
… for so few results
Alas, a thousand times alas, things go awry as soon as the heroine and her improvised sidekick Ken (Ryan Gosling) land in Venice Beach, “California country.” The pace quickens, as if Greta Gerwig is in a hurry to finish this promising part. The passages at the police station are very fast and used for short comic moments, as is the limitless stupidity of Ken, who discovers with joy the omnipotence of men and horses.
Too bad that this speed comes to ruin the rules established by staging in Barbieland. If everything is possible in this wonderful universe, everything seems possible in this real world too, where Ken moves from the corridors of a hospital to the headquarters of a large corporation in record time, while Barbie pursues her research at a much more sedate pace. These ellipses are certainly fun, but they ruin the whole concept and bridging the still immense gap between the two worlds. The director also fails to exploit the immense potential of Will Ferrell, one of the funniest actors in the world who, as the CEO of Mattel, offers only a childish gesture or two in line with those of Brothers in spite of themselveswho nevertheless sticks to his role as a constantly maternal male and accompanied by his army of executives in suits.
If this second act is shipped, a few fabulous moments manage to ease the feeling of disappointment. See Barbie discover the fluctuations of existenceemotional or concrete, it is one of the most touching elements of the film, amplified by the nuances of Margot Robbie’s acting, especially when she comes face to face with an old lady and compliments her, becoming aware of the beauty of time passing after having evolved throughout its life in a frozen environment.
A paradoxical film
The disillusionment – that of the spectator, not of the heroine – is accentuated in a final part where the unbearable Ken embodied by Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu or even Kingsley Ben-Adir occupy much more space than the heroine and her partners, played in particular of Issa Rae, Emma Mackey and the brilliant Kate McKinnon. A long-winded conclusion where the realization settles down, where the energy drops and where Greta Gerwig forgets to deal with different characters, and not just the Barbies. Margot Robbie even goes so far as to lose the viewerovershadowed by a looping Ryan Gosling, which ends up becoming annoying.
Barbie: Ryan Gosling sings “Just Ken” in a delirious clip
But here too superb lines of dialogue recall the talent of Greta Gerwig and her friend Noah Baumbach, starting with the outbursts of Gloria (America Ferrera), who tries to eradicate the patriarchy that poisons Barbieland with unstoppable arguments. . The feature film also offers a successful meeting between Barbie and her architect, eventually establishing herself as a cross between The great adventure Lego, The Truman Show AND Matrix Reloadedwho sadly can’t choose what they most want to be, which creates a cruel lack of balance upon arrival.
Where the film ends up sabotaging itself is in its way of hitting consumerist capitalism by taking advantage of a marketing campaign which is in any case the perfect exercise implemented by Warner and Mattel, happy to be able to gorge themselves thanks to the many derivative products. Barbie is therefore stuck in this Hollywood paradox, wanting to denounce the excesses of a system that however is forced to promotethus becoming both a product and an artistic object with its ass stuck between many chairs.
Barbie by Greta Gerwig, in theaters on July 19, 2023. Above the trailer. Find all our trailers here.
Source: Cine Serie
Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.
