So I finally saw the Barbie movie. At first I wasn’t interested, then I thought I was, then I thought I wasn’t because Will Ferrell was in it (my hatred of Will Ferrell is another topic for another day), and then I decided I had to see it because of all the hype.
And maybe all the hype was the problem, because I was underwhelmed with the movie. I didn’t see why anyone would take offence to a fantasy story set in a fantasy land, and I didn’t see why this movie would be the motivator to leave your bad job and/ or relationship.
If you haven’t seen the movie yet but plan to, you may want to stop reading here, because there are spoiler to follow
If you think you know everything you need to know about the Barbie movie but didn’t see it and have no intention of ever seeing it, fuck you and the horse you rode in on and you can stop reading here too.
Moving on.
I’ve read a lot about how the movie emasculates men. No, it emasculates the Kens for a little while. But they are male dolls without any genitalia, so that’s not much of a stretch. At the end of the movie the men are still very much in charge in the Real World. I guess some men couldn’t see the humor in the scenes where the Barbies manipulate the Kens with sex appeal? Outside of that it’s just your typical “dads are bozos” kind of humor that’s been a staple of TV sitcoms for decades (and the only kind of humor that Will Ferrell seems capable of doing). If that offends you, you need therapy.
I’d read that people were upset the movie wasn’t suitable for small children. It’s rated PG-13 for a reason. That rating has been in use since 1984, so if you still don’t know what that means there isn’t anything I can do for you. I had read there was a lot of profanity. As I’m writing this it’s only been a couple hours since I saw it, and I can’t recall any. Maybe there was a little, but certainly nothing shocking and/ or out of place for a movie with a PG-13 rating.
On the flip side, I also didn’t come out of the Barbie movie feeling more empowered as a woman or anything like that. As I already said, at the end the men are still firmly in charge in the Real World. Sure, women are in charge in Barbieland at the end, but so what? They were in charge in the beginning too. And yes, Stereotypical Barbie decides to stay in the Real World, but again, so what? She’s going to be extremely disappointed very quickly with the Real World. She’s certainly going to be less happy after her first appointment at the gynecologist!
Sure, Barbie discovers her own power, but so does Ken. America Ferrara’s monologue about how hard it is being a woman IS spot on, but isn’t exactly news to anyone with a vagina that being a woman is hard. It shouldn’t be news to anyone with a penis either, but I digress.
At the end of the day I enjoyed the movie. You could predict the ending about 10 minutes in, but name a movie where that isn’t the case. It was cute. It was pretty funny. Kate McKinnon and Helen Mirren were amazing. It was a fun way to spend a very hot Sunday afternoon. It didn’t shake my vision of myself as a woman or how I view men.
And that’s OK. It IS just a movie after all.