Barbie, one of the two wheels in terms of blockbuster/roll-compressor of the duo Barbenheimer materialized by a storm on social networks, releases this Wednesday in theaters. If from a media and advertising point of view the film seems already full, what about the work (or should we say the product?) in itself? Did we really see life in pink in front of this Barbie ? Put on your escarpins for this live review of Barbie-Land...
High heels at Birkenstock
It all starts like a tale, in the fabulous world of Barbie. All Barbies live their best lives, chaining up days at the beach and perfect evenings between girls. At least until Barbie stereotyped (Margot Robbie) does not begin to think about death... From then on, the disasters will go on for her (worse, her heels even touch the ground!), so much so that the only possible option seems to abandon this real plastic haven to go to the True World, to see what is wrong with the girl possessing her own version of the doll... A whole epic!
Scenario level, nothing new under the sun. Toy Story marched on that same path now long marked. No, where Barbie Rather, it is at the level of his willingness to mix his huge artificial decorations of cheap plastic with live-action characters. And if at the level of artistic direction the work seems to have been stakhanovist and is clearly felt on the screen, the camera of Greta Gerwig seems to be in pain to film them... but in order to talk about it we have to invoke the master when it comes to doll houses. I have appointed: Wes Anderson !
Pink... pastel
Indeed, even though characterizing it in this way is a net bottleneck to consider its cinematography in its entirety, Wes Anderson has still repeatedly filmed doll houses. Whether it is pure animation or a cardboard-paste/live action mix closer to the ambition of Barbie (up to the very recent Asteroid City, even if he moves away a little further), he has fun evolving his characters in his fabulous scenes by tying models, real-size decors and scale games.
Undoubtedly, the bastard hurts. If Anderson explores every detail of his decor, both in depth and in verticality, multiplying the visual ideas to capture it in its totality and put it at the service of history (although one thinks of the film, one must see the visual madness of The French Dispatch), Barbie is content with an unfortunate camera-monstration. In this crazy setting, the objective remains wise, purely illustrative. He follows Margot Robbie, allowing a slight desaturation of the image in the True World, some journeys and unfortunate field/counter-field... In short, a very good staging at the pâquerettes... After all, the viewer should not be distracted from the main message of the film: advertising.
Coming of age not always very pink
But not to be dishonest, before we talk about the subject that is bad, let's talk about the only theme that we can explore. Barbie not participating in the advertising logic of the film: the transition to adulthood. Several scenes during the feature film offer a sharp break in rhythm to evoke this pivotal phase where the importance of parents begins to decrease and where toys end up taking dust from the closets. Suspended moments, emotional, where finally the author behind the camera seems to take a while to evoke a dear subject and get away from the only mercantile sight of his film. Before again – and very quickly – get ravaged by the pink wave of potache jokes and insipid music.
Barbie, the new Simone Veil
Then you'd tell me. What about the feminist projections of Barbie ? In fact, it was felt in the trailer, this desire to put forward the « powerful women ». Terminology dear to a Léa Salamé who devoted two books and who should love the film by his perfect mix on the screen of an ultra-liberal ideology masturbated with a wise facade progressism. If the film does check the specifications of representativeness (whole skin colour pallet, all silhouettes, all sizes, etc.), the feature film becomes much more uniform in the occupations of these same Barbie. In fact, each one of them fiddles with the high spheres: president, recognized scientists, Nobel Prize... Barbie-average doesn't exist!
Exactly as if Mattel having noticed that the physical ideal (the big blonde fine as a toothpick imploring young girls to « Eat less » to lose weight, cf. the collection Barbie 1965 ...) embedded in the heads of the kids no longer sold it, it replaced it with another form of ideological totalitarianism. In the 1980s, it was difficult not to be a Swedish planter on heels, now the kids will complex not to be Nobel Prize. Every time his torments...
Feminism / conquistador, same fight
Worse still, when in the course of a trip that we will not reveal (it would be sad to spoil by a spoil this magnificent advertising spot) the patriarchate spat of Barbie-Land, it is to return all the "powerful women" described above in undressed potiches prompt to serve a fresh beer to their favorite Ken. And the film explains with these words: it's like for the natives facing the viruses of the conquistadors, they have never been confronted, so they could not defend themselves! A metaphor for a hair that is complicated to leave, referring – beyond the joke – to a strange vision of the status of women. Maybe we should contribute to send some books of Mona Cholet the film team, so they can take a look at the story of women's subjugation.
And if we are talking about feminism, it is impossible to ignore a passage that is intended to be particularly acerbic. Wanting to meet the girl owner of the version herself as a doll, Barbie-Margot-Robbie goes to her high school. Some of the welcome that the little girl will do to her, she approaches her and her group of friends smiling all over. But here, cold shower! L-Ado will treat Barbie (we summarize, but it's the idea) of a stereotype on legs instilling a fascist logic into the heads of kids. Scene that will close on a crying Barbie, moving away from this group of teens like a victim of terrified bullying.
At first glance, an introspective passage for the creators of the toy – one quotes a few examples of Barbie models from the past with rather problematic hints at the moment – which should reassure the parents and show that the film is aware of its heritage. But let us put ourselves at the level of blonde heads: this brief passage, with an ultra-high rhythm, composed of a not obvious field-lexical (fascism, stereotype, ...) and setting up a Barbie to go running, wet cheeks of tears. It is strong to bet that they don't bit the speech, but feel empathy for the doll. Jackpot!
Pink Capitalism
And even if the feature film constantly tries to show how subversive it is – as long as it becomes embarrassing – everything looks like a vague blow of sword in the water. He even began to "criticize" the layings of Mattel (principal producer of the film) by putting at the head of the company a herd of white men led by a Will Ferrell He's a CEO who's obsessed with money. But even him, the thinking head from which born all the stereotypical logics of the doll brand, ends up being characterized as a cute teddy bear eager for hugs at the end of the movie. It's so pretty, in the end, capitalism!
If Barbie Would like to pretend to be a pirate film, turning the studios from inside to criticise it, he is far from it. And if we compare the promotional logics of a real pirate film properly aborted by the Warner (the excellent and underestimated Matrix Resurrections In 2021), with the delusional marketing of this film in pink, we quickly understand how harmless it is and position itself only as an advertising object for the two mega-firms who finance it. A very lukewarm feature film, which has fun censoring the only big word in the film of a Mattel logo stuck on the mouth of the actress who pronounces it... That says a lot.
Go Greta, I don't hate you...
Too bad we liked it. Greta Gerwig. Let her be an actress in a big movie Netflix directed by her husband Noah Baumbach – White Noise – or in the very little film of horrific offset Baghead, or already director in The Daughters of Dr. March or Lady BirdEach time, she had at least one proposal to make. For Barbie, she seems to have let herself be crushed by the machine... Bad omen for his next film as a screenwriter, the already so commented Snow White planned for 2024? The future will tell us.
As far as we are concerned, apart from a few good jokes, a handful of fun passages and the perfect interpretation of the main actors duo, there is not much else left to keep from these two hours of gavage of visual marshmallow with more than questionable ideology. The film is also much less beautiful than the other paid ad released this year, Super Mario Bros MovieEven though he seems to be promised to become at least as profitable. So, after exsanguing his superhero franchises (and facing the recent flops of Morbius, Black Widow or Ant-Man 3), to see Hollywood throw itself on adaptations of games and toys. And it's not Mattel and his fourteen (fourteen!) film projects (Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket And I'm passing by) who will say otherwise...
Super critic who takes several angles to decorate the film. It made me want to make my own opinion, but as I expected it, it looks hollow and worse, a marketing object to make swallow the pill of a merchanted world that we only know too well.
Thanks for the super interesting review to read as usual 🙂 I'm just surprised you're not talking about Father Gosling, is he completely transparent in the movie as Ken?
No, he would even take over Barbie!
Thank you very much. 😉 then not at all the interpretation of both is really good (actually, it even takes the step on Margot Robbie unfortunately). Very funny (some noted that he had never been as funny as since The Nice Guys and it's not wrong). After the overjoyed tone gets a little tired in the long run
If it's not plastic (a stunning artistic direction and timely staging), this satire pop with absurd humor that dynamizes the ringuard and controversial image of her star doll (the casting is awesome) to make it a feminist icon opposed to patriarchy, yet still remains a giant (mal) product placement camouflaged under a layer of pink glitter. More inclusive and therefore more profitable, there is no doubt that #Barbie will (re)sell like buns!
I didn't expect anything but you made me want to look at him despite his flaws. It must be said that Ryan Gosling's grimaces on the posters are hilarious. I only know him in serious roles so it contrasts ^^
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