"Barbie" Can You Feel That Kenergy?

 

    Ken brought me to my knees, and in a good way. Honestly, considering the hype surrounding the Barbie movie I was incredibly skeptical that it would be able to live up to it's hype, but after watching it I have to admit, it's actually really good and seems like something that'd have great re-watchability. Look I'm definitely feeding into the hype, but this movie managed to make a compelling story about dolls that had a little bit of everything, a little bit of comedy that made you laugh, a vibrant set, memorable characters, and some base commentary on some very real social issues.

    I mean I have to start with the acting. While it is funny that everyone seems to hate Simu Liu, I must admit, Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie as Ken and Barbie respectively was perfect. I remember seeing the casting and thinking, wow they're going kind of old for both of them, and frankly I was afraid of Ryan Gosling being too old to pull off Ken, but after seeing them, I can't imagine anyone else playing the role as well. It's sort of like how everyone who attempts to play Willy Wonka lives in the shadow of Gene Wilder, they seem to have bought in incredibly well.

    I mean and it's easy to see why. Not only is the fact that the movie caused a pink shortage hilarious, it just seemed like everyone was having an incredible time on the set. The soundtrack was just memorable and had the range to match the movie, from the throwback Dance the Night by Dua Lipa, to a Ryan Gosling track, to Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice, to even a classic Billie Eilish song, this album makes sure to go the distance. When used in tandem with the absolutely wonderful set there's no reason to not love this movie, it's colourful and definitely fits the bill for a blockbuster movie of the summer. 

    Sadly, as exceptional as this film was, I'd argue it still has the same shortcomings as many movies/pieces of media that attempt to be jack of all trades, and that is the fact that it can be pretty surface level or shallow. Firstly, while I do appreciate that they acknowledged not only feminism but toxic masculinity, it was admittedly pretty weak and that was a point that almost all of my friends came out of the movie with, though it is a kids movie so one could easily say it could be a starting point. I mean as much as I loved America Ferrera and Will Ferrell in this movie, you do start to wonder how necessary they are to this film, I mean the addition of the entire Mattel corporation was a bit redundant, though I suppose I do commend the ambition.

    The same could be said for the whole plot revolving around America Ferrera and her daughter Sasha. They're just kind of there? Like they're side characters so their issues are just kind of resolved quickly. Barbie just ignores that Sasha is basically the equivalent of like the popular girl/school bully and she just magically learns to resolve her quarrel with her mom. Not to mention how Sasha's dad is still in the picture, but also Gloria has many qualms with men, but none of them are conveniently surrounding him so he can just be sidelined. I'm not saying I want Sasha's dad to be more prominent in the film, I just felt as if Sasha and Gloria weren't prominent enough to justify their inclusion in the film.

Final Score: 80/100

    It's a fun flick, one that people should definitely go out and see with their friends. It's fun and lighthearted and has a little bit of everything for everybody, except for snowflake conservatives of course. Honestly, I'm contemplating buying Ken merch but it's so pricy and most of the items are either sold out or can't ship to Canada so I'm out of luck. Either way, go tell your friends, go tell your family, the Barbie movie has lived up to the hype it's definitely going to be my movie of the summer (mostly because I don't really watch many movies).