Fellmans Movie Reviews

Red = Spoilers

I got a chance to watch the new Barbie movie that recently came out, and it was actually worth watching, even if you’re not into playing with Barbies. I’m neither going to confirm nor deny whether I play with Barbies or not, but that’s neither here nor there… The fact of the matter is, the movie was good, and that’s all that we’re going to be discussing about that… 

What’s it about? The Barbie movie is about “Stereotypical Barbie”, played by Margot Robbie, who wakes up one day in her normal routine of bliss and perfection in Barbieland, and for some reason begins having an existential crisis and having thoughts about death and begins noticing cellulite on her thighs. Suddenly, everything starts going wrong and she has to go and find help from “Weird Barbie”, played by Kate McKinnon, who sends her to the real world to find out why the bridge between the worlds is breaking down. Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, joins her on her trip back to the real world and they both discover that it’s nothing like what it is in Barbieland. They get separated because the Mattel corporation comes to pick up Barbie and take her back to the company to keep her from getting out while Ken heads back to Barbieland. Back in Barbieland, Ken shows all the other Kens what the real world is like and how men are in control of everything. Soon, Barbie shows up and Ken has turned Barbieland into a patriarchy. And Barbie and her real-world human friends have to find a way to stop the Kens and save Barbieland from becoming Kendom forever.  

What’s good? Barbie is a wonderful comedy full of singing and dancing and existential moments for you to ponder over, if you’re into that sort of thing. There’re fight scenes and a dance-off, Sharks and Jets style, so there’s something for everybody in this movie. Will Ferrell has a good role as the CEO of the Mattel corporation, and he has a lot of good lines throughout the film.  

What’s bad? I think the worst thing that I can say about the movie is the special effects. But I think they were supposed to look like that because it was supposed to look like a Barbie world. So, it’s not really an insult. It’s what they were going for. Other than that, there’s nothing that I really have to criticize.  

The acting? Margot Robbie does an excellent job as the titular character. She makes a passionate transition from your basic Barbie to an actual human by the end of the movie in front of your eyes in a very convincing way. And Ryan Gosling is absolutely hilarious as Ken. Will Ferrell makes a great CEO because Will Ferrell makes a great anything. And America Ferrera does her job perfectly as Gloria, the human that brings Barbie into the real world. 

The effects? The effects are meant to make it seem like you’re in Barbie’s dream world. So, it all looks plastic and fake on purpose. Even the water at the beach looks like hard plastic. And you can walk on the water in the pools in their backyards.  

The comedy? I didn’t expect the jokes to be as funny as they were, but the movie was a lot funnier than I originally thought it was going to be. I was laughing out loud at a whole bunch of places. Straight up guffawing at some points.  

The singing? There’s a whole bunch of singing in this movie. From custom songs in the intro to a cover of Matchbox 20’s “Push”.  

The dancing? There’s a lot of dancing as well. From the dancing at Barbie’s party to the dance-off a-la West-Side Story near the end of the movie between the Kens. There are people dancing with each other all over the place.  

Dolls in the real world. This seems like a frequent topic as of late. The most recent movie that came out like this was “Free Guy” with Ryan Reynolds where he was a video game character that realized he was an NPC.  

A touch of feminism. Barbie manages to sneak in a lesson about feminism while entertaining. Granted, I’m not the biggest feminist in the world, but I do admire her commitment to her gender.  

An existential crisis. Barbie’s going through a tumultuous time in her life. Thinking about death, and mortality, and all the things that make us live our lives. And it’s making her sad. And it’s ruining her perfect world. Shattering her blissful existence that she lives every day. So, she has to go on a journey to find out what is making her think of these things and why they started happening, setting in motion the events of the entire film.  

Keeping us human. The things that make Barbie sad make life worth living. It’s an interesting lesson to learn from a movie. But it’s an important lesson to learn as a human being.  

So, see Barbie. It’s the best movie about a doll you’ll see this year. I don’t know how many movies about dolls you’ll see this year, but this is probably gonna be the best one. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…