REVIEW: Barbie is more than Kenough

Whether you’re a Barbie girl in a Barbie world, whether you hate the standard the doll has set for femininity, or whether you’re a dude, this film is universal to all those experiences. It’s pretty rare we get a film as hugely cultural as this, one that becomes such a juggernaut before it comes out. We’ve all seen Ryan Gosling talk about his Kenergy, we’ve seen the numerous trailers for this film and the gorgeous sets and costumes. But to watch this film is a beautiful, powerful experience.

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in Barbie, courtesy of Warner Bros.

It’s been hard to avoid Barbie, but in case you have this is a film about the doll many young girls have played with for decades. Barbie (played by Margot Robbie from Babylon) lives a perfect life in Barbieland. Everything is amazing until one day everything starts feeling off. Her feet become flat, she feels grumpy when waking up, and she finds herself contemplating her own mortality. Confused and hopeful to return to her ideal life, she ventures out into the real world to find Mattel and the child that plays with her hoping that will fix her life. Also, Ken (played by Ryan Gosling from the Nice Guys) comes along for the ride.

The script (co-written by director Greta Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach) is superb in deconstructing the value that Barbie has on femininity. A beloved doll for many decades, but one that as the film shows has propped up ideals reality often hasn’t matched. This mismatch is what creates the anxiety in our main Barbie, excellently played by Robbie. She’s fantastic in showing all sides of this complicated character, from the joy of living in a perfectly matriarchal society to the uncomfortable feeling of getting catcalled. The film rests on her shoulders, and she carries it as if it was weightless.

But the true praise here must be given to Gerwig. Mining the history of the world’s most excessive cinema, she crafts a masterpiece of aesthetics and anxiety. Few films released this year look as vibrant and spectacularly colourful. In many ways, it feels like a musical from the 50s like Singin’ in the Rain, or an American in Paris. The highlight of the film for this critic was a dance battle between the Kens (including Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Ncuti Gatwa). It’s a loving throwback to an excess predominantly forgotten by Hollywood because it doesn’t always guarantee a profit.

Simu Liu, Margot Robbie, and Ryan Gosling in Barbie, courtesy of Warner Bros.

What the film is most concerned with examining is independence. Ken’s arc relates to his desire for a true relationship with Barbie, while what she desires is a essentially a return to conformity. She only knows her value through her repetition in her society, and he only knows his value in relation to Barbie. But as they both learn throughout their adventures, no matter what pressures society puts on them, they are Kenough. Gosling’s performance has been discussed by many critics for an Oscar nom, and while I personally don’t see it (Oscar voters tend to forget about films that come out before September) it is a top tier performance in Gosling’s eclectic ouevre.

Barbie has a little something for everybody in it, including a Dr. Barbie (played by Hari Nef), a Physicist Barbie (played by Emma Mackey), and a Weird Barbie (played brilliantly by Kate McKinnon). And here I’d like to write a special plea to any men who don’t feel like this film is for them. This is a film for everybody, but it does have a special message for people who considered themselves too masculine to ever play with a Barbie doll. It’s okay to feel like you’re not enough. It’s okay to feel like everything’s too much. It’s okay if those around you don’t seem to value your presence as much as you’d like. It’s okay, because despite what you think, you are Kenough.

This is a maximalist film, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea. For many people, they’ll probably go see Oppenheimer instead this week and concern themselves with the ramifications of the atomic bomb. But Barbie is a film that feels more universal to the feelings we all experience inside. It’s a masterpiece beckoning of a cinema seemingly long gone, and one which is beautiful to dive back into. This film gets a 5/5, you can watch it in cinemas now.