Barbie (2023)

First of all, Greta Gerwig is mining her childhood for gems and insights to share with the rest of us, and this movie is no exception. The Google reviews are hilarious, because while the overall rating is a three, the actual ratings are largely either 5 or 1--so you will either love of hate this movie, which Gerwig co-wrote with her real life partner. At the start, Barbie lives in a wonderland of pink places, houses with no walls, and women are in charge--much like what little girls are supposed to do when they play with dolls, act out the futures they hope for themselves. Men are adjuncts to the real business of life, but there is no sex, no relationships, and everything is perfect--up until it is not. Barbie starts to have dark thougts and she and ken travel to the real world, where Barbie discovers that in fact women have no power and men are in charge, a fact that Ken finds intoxicating, and upon return to Barbieland they shuffle power, which is also not a great look. The tone is light and fluffy but there is a darkness here. There are several levels that this movie works on. THe first is that as a satire it is comic genius, with so many zingers. Mattel also is a winner, because while they are skewared at every turn, Barbie made a comeback as a doll. The cinematography is breathtakingly beautiful, even if you are not a huge fan of pink. It really works. The deeper question about gender roles is dealt with in such a way that you will be thinking about it for days to come, and overall, while the ending was not to my taste, this was a great film.