I caved. I went to see Barbenheimer (a double-header of Barbie followed by Oppenheimer). I had always planned to see Oppenheimer, but the insane (and insanely early) amount of marketing for the Barbie movie, fitting as that might be, had made me intend to avoid giving any of my dollars to Mattel (and others). But I caved, knowing that I would undoubtedly have mixed feelings about the film.
And I did. The aesthetics of the movie, as expected, were so personally distasteful that they made me look forward to the grimmer realities of Oppenheimer coming up. But this was what I expected.
The ranting of some about the movie’s “woke agenda” is, of course, correct. The movie clearly intends to subvert some themes associated with Barbie. But that agenda is, for the most part, so tame, it’s disappointing that some still find it threatening. It’s main target seems to be a stale and obsolete patriarchy, which still thrives, and its subversion still needs to make its contribution. I wish it success.
One of the highlights of the movie is a speech by Sasha, a cynical teen, relatively early in the movie. Sadly the film’s failure – to my knowledge – to integrate that in a more satisfying way just underlines that they weren’t making the movie for me. (I suspect that it would have been impossible to make it for me and for Mattel at the same time – though Mattel was willing to be made fun of at one level.)
Overall, the film had fun, creative moments that made it watchable, and Margot Robbie was magnificent and deserves the praise. It also had many disappointments and unfilled potentials to go deeper. But, again, it was not made for me. Ultimately, the only way for an older man like myself to assess a film like Barbie is to sit back patiently and observe it’s (huge!) viewership and the possibility of an impact that it might make on cultural conversations and on individuals and families. May it be a good one.
And don’t even get me started on the men’s dance number… (but I’ll still give the film *** for its heart in the right place).
