Barbie ★★★★★
Greta Gerwig
Starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Emma Mackey, Kate McKinnon
Before it’s release on cinema screens this week, there is no way you haven’t seen the Barbie PR team working hard to turn our worlds pink on and offline. Often with big build ups like these, some viewers can be put off and decide not to give in to the ‘hype’ that’s taking place around them, but this is certainly a hype you should be supporting.
Directed by Greta Gerwig, this particular version of Barbie sees the stereotypical blonde living her dream life with fellow dolls and Kens. When this perfection starts to change, Barbie has the opportunity to visit the real world and learn that life in plastic might not be so...fantastic.
Barbie is played by the incredible Margot Robbie, whose sidekick Ken is iconically portrayed by Ryan Gosling, which is a pairing that could not have been better. The two leads are supported by an abundance of cameos from Hollywood actors like Will Ferrell to British TV icons like Emma Mackey and Ncuti Gatwa from Netflix show Sex Education.
The story itself is an emotional and powerful rollercoaster that needs nothing but respect from us viewers, but the theme that stood out most to me was nostalgia.
As a 90’s kid who preferred playing with Bratz dolls back in the day (sorry Barbie!) there were so many references entwined in the narrative so effortlessly that it really felt like a story of imagination. The actors moved around just like they would do if they were dolls in a child’s story, which not only added physical comedy to an already humorous script, but made this yet another family friendly film with both the young and old being able to relate to these characters. There were even a number of Bratz references in there that got me even more immersed in the dream world.
America Ferrera plays a noteworthy role as Gloria, whose speech on feminism will hopefully keep us talking for longer than the success of this film lasts.
Plus, the choreography, costume and soundtrack (from a star-studded line-up) were the cherries on top of this very pink cake.
Not only do I only want to go and see this film again as soon as possible, I also can’t stop reading others' thoughts on the story. It is refreshing to see so many people passionate and supportive of a new cinema release, and hopefully we will begin to see more positivity like this for big screen releases in the near future.
Barbie available in select cinemas now