Barbie [Blu-ray] STBK [2023] [Region Free]

It’s finally here everyone! Barbenheimer weekend has arrived and whilst I’d much rather be engulfed by Christopher Nolan’s nuke of depression, my gay sister and gay friend were surprisingly much more keen to see this pink-encrusted camp-fest.

They donned their pink Barbie Primark get-up and entered the screening with Starbucks frappe in hand like the basic white girls they are and I followed along, trying to make the best effort I could, in my neon shorts and maroon Chang T-shirt, sipping a black coffee to kill the jet lag of just landing on UK soil the night before.

I don’t know what I was expecting with Barbie: The Movie really, but I knew that with Greta Gerwig in charge, this wasn’t going to be your average quick cash-in to get the kiddies queueing out the doors and thankfully, I was right. This is far better than any Barbie movie has any right to be.

Right from the opening, which brilliantly parodies 2001: A Space Odyssey along with a hilariously sarcastic Helen Mirren narration, Barbie is a self-referential, candy-coloured fever dream into the horrors of womanhood.

The film actually has a lot of important and thought-provoking things to say about patriarchy and sexism but it never patronises the audience, rather delivering them always in a highly entertaining and comedic way.

Barbie is laugh out loud funny throughout and is totally aware of its absurdity. This is a world where flat feet cause abject reactions and colourful transportive portals link one universe to the next. It never takes itself seriously which means we’re always let in on the joke and can have as much fun with it as Greta’s clearly having.

Margot Robbie is the perfect casting for Stereotypical Barbie, she’s everyone’s idea of stereotypical beauty but also has so much charisma and naive likeability. But surprisingly, it’s Ryan Gosling’s Ken who steals the show with his hilarious turn as the empty-headed Beach-specialist discovering the whimsical wonders of patriarchy.

Whilst the film is consistently funny throughout, it also holds a lot of heart and emotion too. Beyond the fluffy exterior is quite a deep and powerful message about self-acceptance and what it means to be human. It could easily have fallen into schmaltzy territory but Greta steers well clear from that area, delivering genuine emotion.

I don’t think it’s a film without its flaws though. It’s probably a little too long and I’m not sure if all the ideas completely work in a coherent way. For example, the zany Mattel board seemed to translate much better in Barbieland than the real world.

I think the film is at its best when it’s fully embracing its own ridiculousness. The astonishing set design and eye-popping song and dance numbers really show off how fun and preposterous films can be if you let them.

Barbie is destined to become a camp cult classic thanks to its gorgeous visuals, strong performances and whip-smart screenplay. I hope that Oppenheimer fills me with as much existential dread and crippling thoughts about death as this film has!