Something very strange would have to happen so that ‘Barbie’ did not become the movie of the summer, even premiering on the same day (this Thursday, July 20) as Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ (2023). Everything plays in favor of the long-awaited movie about the Mattel doll. On the one hand, the mystery: What will the movie about Barbie be like? What tone will it have? Will it be a parody? Can a movie about Barbie be feminist? What is your audience? On the other, the curiosity that a proposal always arouses with many interesting people at the helm: from Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women) as director and screenwriter (together with Noah Baumbach) to Margot Robbie as the doll. And, of course, an irresistible promotional campaign that has painted the networks and this hot summer pink.
the most awaited movie
Barbie is undoubtedly one of the two most anticipated movies of this season. The other is ¡Oppenheimer! (2023), the new thing by Christopher Nolan. Since it was announced that both will be released on the same day, on July 20, the networks have been filled with memes crossing both films (Barbenheimer’s viral posters) as a metaphor for the difficulty of choosing between one or the other on the day of the premiere. . Which will you see first?
As usually happens with the most anticipated films, no details of the ‘Barbie’ plot have been revealed. But the trailer gives some brushstrokes. Faced with some strange and unexpected symptoms, such as noticing that she no longer walks on tiptoes and her feet are flat, the famous doll (Margot Robbie) has to leave the wonderful world of Barbie behind to travel to the real world. She will not be alone in her adventure: she will be accompanied by Ken (Ryan Gosling).
In her wildest dreams, Barbie could not have imagined that she would be brought to life on the screen by Margot Robbie, one of the stars of the moment and a magnificent actress. The interpreter of ‘Yo, Tonya’ (2017) and ‘Once upon a time… in Hollywood ‘(2019), Harley Quinn in’ Suicide Squad ‘(2016) and’ Birds of Prey ‘(2020), she joined the project when it passed into the hands of Warner Bros. and is not only its leading lady. The actress is also one of the producers of the film.
Although his participation in the film was jeopardized at some point due to scheduling problems, Ryan Gosling is Ken in the film, Barbie’s friend. Although it is not the first time that the actor demonstrates his comic vision (‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’, ‘Two good guys’), the expectation of seeing the protagonist of ‘Drive’ (2011) and ‘La La Land’ (2016 ) in the skin of the famous and very blond doll is big. Even more seen their fluorine outfits in the trailer and promotional images.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNErtqW9HTI
Greta Gerwig: the filmmaker that ‘Barbie’ deserved
The choice of Greta Gerwig as the director of the Barbie movie brought the best vibes. Because? Because she is one of the most interesting filmmakers of the moment, extremely intelligent, connected to the present and, as her previous ‘Lady Bird’ (2017) and ‘Little Women’ (2019) demonstrate, determined to create good female characters. Gerwig, who is also an actress (she is Frances Ha), also signs the script for ‘Barbie’ with Noah Baumbach (‘Marriage Story’), another splendid filmmaker.
A feminist movie about Barbie?
Can a movie about Barbie be feminist? We’ll see it on the day of the premiere, but everything points to it taking into account that it has Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie at the controls. From their different spaces (Gerwig is an actress, writer, producer and director; Robbie is an actress and producer), they are both doing a splendid job of defending and vindicating the space of female filmmakers and creating interesting female characters.
One of the attractions of ‘Barbie’ is undoubtedly its irresistible cast, presented to the public with a fun campaign of promotional portraits of their characters (which, once again, gave rise to endless memes). Here is a sample of a representative cast full of familiar faces: Simu Liu (another Ken), Michael Cera (Allan, Ken’s friend), Hari Nef (doctor Barbie), singer Dua Lipa (mermaid Barbie), Issa Rae (Barbie president). And, already in the real world, America Ferreira and Will Ferrell as CEO of a toy company.
The ‘cameos’ that never were
Greta Gerwig has explained that she would have been very excited to have two ‘cameos’ in ‘Barbie’, but due to agenda issues of the actors in question it could not be. It was the occasional appearance of Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet, whom she directed in her previous ‘Lady Bird’ (2017) and ‘Little Women’ (2019).
‘Life in plastic, it’s fantastic!’
The soundtrack of ‘Barbie’ (comes out on July 21) has all the numbers to become the most faithful companion of the ‘spinning’ classes of the summer. Greta Gerwig’s film comes with original songs by, among others, Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Charlie XCX, Carol G., Billie Eilish, Haim, Tame Impala, Khalid or the South Korean FIFTY FIFTY. To this, we must add the song about Ken sung by Ryan Gosling (‘I’m Just Ken’) and the version of Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’ sung by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice. 17 great songs for the pinkest summer.
The ‘Barbie’ project comes from afar and has been turbulent. In 2014, Sony reached an agreement with Mattel, the toy company that launched the Barbie doll. Since then it has rained a lot. There have been studio changes (from Sony it jumped to Warner Bros.) and, above all, dance of actresses and directors. First it was going to be Barbie the comedian Amy Schumer. Later, it was rumored that she would be Anne Hathaway. As for behind the scenes, before the arrival of Greta Gerwig, the filmmakers Alethea Jones and Diablo Cody (‘Juno’) flirted with the project.
There is a dark shadow in the origin of Barbie, the doll with which many generations have grown up and around which there have always been controversies about her sexism and her propagation of harmful stereotypes because they are unrealistic and unrepresentative. Its creator, Ruth Handler, took as a reference from Barbie some German dolls with a very sexy physique that, at first, were intended as a gift for adults. I hope Gerwig’s film finally strikes down that and other shadows and the Barbie of the new generations is a woman light years away from all that.
Robbie and Gosling, at odds with sexism and objectification
Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie are two clear examples of very combative actors labeled ‘sex symbol’ that, due to their privileged physiques, they were put on from minute one. In conflict with the tendency to sexualize that, despite the changes, prevails in Hollywood, both seem to have found in Barbie and Ken a new way, more fun, ironic and accessible, to laugh at the obsession with perfect bodies and their objectification. .