- Critics praise Barbie film for its humor and subversive approach
- Some reviewers criticize the film’s portrayal of masculinity and uneven plot
- Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling’s performances receive acclaim, but some find the film lacking in substance
Many critics, who have largely praised the Barbie film, believe that life in plastic is largely spectacular.
The film, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, will be released this Friday, in competition with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
The Empire referred to Barbie as “painfully funny,” whereas the Independent referred to it as “joyous from minute to minute.”
However, the Daily Mail described it as “uneven and disjointed,” while Time described it as “very pretty but shallow.”
Robbie portrays the character in the film directed by Greta Gerwig and produced in collaboration with toy manufacturer Mattel.
In a five-star review, Clarisse Loughrey of the Independent stated, “Barbie is one of the most inventive, impeccably crafted, and surprising mainstream films of recent memory – a testament to what can be accomplished within the bowels of capitalism.”
While a studio film cannot be genuinely subversive, especially now that consumer culture has realized that self-awareness is good for business, Barbie manages to get away with far more than you’d expect.
Robbie Collin of The Telegraph gave the film four stars, calling it “deeply bizarre, conceptually slippery, and frequently belly-laugh hilarious.”
It’s a pleasant surprise to report that Greta Gerwig’s film, while fundamentally a summer comedy adventure about the Barbie toy line, is far from the cash grab many of us feared,” he wrote.
“The sarcastic angle, which will appeal to older viewers, is eagerly and mischievously explored. (This article contains jokes that poke fun at several masculine online beards.)”
Sarah Vine of the Daily Mail was less enthusiastic about the portrayal of males. She wrote, “It’s a profoundly anti-male film, an extension of TikTok feminism that portrays any form of masculinity other than the most benign as noxious and predatory…
Every masculine character is either a moron, a bigot, or a sad, pathetic loser. If the roles were reversed and a male director made a film about how all women are hysterical, neurotic, gold-seeking witches, it would be denounced as incredibly offensive and misogynistic.
She concluded, “It’s inconsistent, disconnected, and the plot makes no sense, and corporate America hangs over it.”
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian also gave the film a lukewarm review, assigning it three stars.
He asserted that Barbie is “a good-natured but self-conscious film” that is “occasionally very funny, but sometimes also demure and inhibited as if the desire to be funny can only be cruel and satirical.”
He added, “This film may be a two-hour advertisement for a product. Barbie takes the comic jugular less than The Lego Movie.”
Other critics were much more favorable. David Fear of Rolling Stone stated that Barbie “may be the most subversive blockbuster of the 21st century,” while Alex Flood of the NME remarked that the script “contains unexpected subtlety.”
Barbie’s UK premiere on Wednesday was the last major showbiz event before SAG’s Hollywood actors’ strike.
Beth Webb of Empire awarded four stars to the performances of Robbie and Gosling as Barbie and Ken.
“Robbie, who has turned it up to 11 since playing Harley Quinn, is hilarious. But Mr. Blond Fragility consistently steals the show,” she said.
“Gosling dives headfirst into Ken’s insecure psyche as he transitions from Barbie’s sidekick to patriarchal poster boy. Every muscle flex, hair flick, and guitar stroke is executed flawlessly. There are times when he will leave you gasping for air.”
Devan Coggan of Entertainment Weekly praised the film’s director as well, saying, “Never mistrust Gerwig.
“The Oscar-nominated director has crafted a bold, hilarious, and profoundly feminist adventure that dares you to laugh and cry, even if you’re made of plastic.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye struck a more dissenting tone, writing: “However deftly executed Gerwig’s Barbie is, an ominous aura pervades the entire exercise”.
The director has carved her signature into a stiff structure and extracted deeper concepts, but the narrative has suffered. Barbie’s muddled politics and emotionless conclusion indicate that the film ultimately serves a brand.
Valerie Complex of Deadline described Barbie as “an imperfect film” in contrast to the criticisms of other critics.
“It stumbles a bit in the management of its colored characters. “They are predominantly used as devices to advance the stereotypical Barbie and Ken narratives,” she said.
This 95-minute film is full of useless dancing and musical performances.
The New York Post’s Johnny Oleksinski went even further, describing Barbie as an “overwrought disappointment.”
“Barbie’s packaging is far more entertaining than the dull toy inside the box,” he said. “To nearly quote an Aqua song: plastic life is not fantastic.”
Time’s Stephanie Zacharek criticized the film’s tone, stating, “It’s a film that’s extremely satisfied with itself. Barbie never lets us forget how intelligent she is, every single minute.”
Peter DeBruge of Variety concluded, “It’s almost ideal that Barbie is opening opposite Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, as Greta Gerwig’s girl-power blockbuster offers a neon-pink form of inception all its own, sowing positive examples of female potential for future generations.
“By displaying a sense of humor about the brand’s past missteps, it gives us permission to question what Barbie represents – something you would never expect from a feature-length toy advertisement.”
