Review of Barbie (2023) by Busiek — 27 Jul 2023

First: THIS IS NOT A FILM FOR CHILDREN and cannot be treated as such (it should have been marked from the beginning and there would have been no problem). Second: the worst thing is that some decided to advertise the film as "feminist", which threw it into the middle of the ideological war.

.. Third: if the film had come out in 2000s we would have treated it like "Pinocchio", "Bicentennial Man" or "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (yes, there is motive of searching for own humanity and meaning) and we would laugh ourselves to tears.

The film is funny, it's quite successful satire on all sorts of extremes: feminism, patriarchy, stereotypes or weird warriors for the "social cause", but with some unnecessary quirks (mocking Pregnat Barbie for example).

A reflection in a distorted mirror, satire, exaggeration, playing on stereotypes... Surprise, surprise: in Barbieland there are Barbies everywhere! The world is plastic, exaggerated, just like the world of Barbie, and Ken is just an accessory - just like in the world of toys! "Real" world is exaggerated more and this part is sometimes more tiresome.

.. And no one from the target audience will appreciate this strange (and creepy!) reference to "2001: Space odyssey" from the beginning of film, a vain effort. Once it would have been an absurdly funny comedy in pink and plastic, today it is "woke" and divisive.

.. because everything must be like in the "real world", sad. It is a very positive film, and we too easily fall into extremes. Blockbuster that is original, imaginative and not a tenth part of a well-known brand.

And gives you food for thought. PROS: Margot Robbie is perfect! Ryan Gosling as Ken steals the show! Development and transformation of these characters. Visuals, set and costume design in Barbieland. Attention to details.

Cast and acting (Yes!). CONS: Sometimes too preachy and then complaining about "patriarchy" has crossed the line of cringe...