TV Chat

Barbie ★★★

"It’s like I’ve been in a dream where I was really invested in the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League."
I burst out laughing at that line. I just didn't see it coming, and the fact that it was said in a Warner Bros. summer blockbuster made it all the funnier. Then #GretaGerwig seemed to take aim at me by taking shots at Godfather stans and 'Slanted and Enchanted' enthusiasts (not Gerwig's first pot-shot at Stephen Malkmus) in the space of a minute. I momentarily had an existential crisis, and pondered "am I as toxic and horrid as those Snyder bros?" Nah.
Anyway, Barbie is good, and it should be applauded for being a $145 million feminist satire on patriarchy that's absolutely bonkers, but I don't think it's great. Performances wise, Ryan Gosling seems to be getting the majority of the praise for his high-Kenergy comedic work (even getting Oscar buzz), and he certainly got the biggest laughs in my screening tonight. However, I just think Margot Robbie as an icon of ideal beauty is perfect casting. And not to sound too pretentious, I kept thinking about The Passion of Joan of Arc. There is a surprising amount of emotional close-ups of Robbie in Barbie that reminded me of Renée Falconetti's heartbreaking work in Dreyer's 1928 French silent historical film.