Barbie Movie Review
I paid to see this movie, JUST for the right to review it. (Unlike all of you Sound of Freedom haters who still haven’t seen it! Here is your free ticket – GO!)
Barbie is NOT a Must-See Film. But You Should Stream It Later at Home!
I give Barbie a solid 2 stars.
Although it was entertaining (and I got to wear pink!), the plot was very stupid and the runtime was too long!
My favorite line in the movie is this:
Either you’re brainwashed or you’re weird, and there is nothing in between.
The entire film is a spoof on today’s pendulum swinging culture. It’s either TOO woke, or TOO anti-woke, and nothing in between.
Idiotic Plot
The plot is awful. Idiotic.
There are 2 worlds in the movie: Barbie world and Real world.
Barbie world is dominated ONLY by women. Only women run Congress, the Supreme Court, banks, and own homes. (Although the ending compromise is that men can possibly hold District court judge jobs, but NEVER Supreme Court).
Real world is dominated by the patriarchy. Men objectifying women. Men in boardrooms talking about girl toys.
Both worlds are falling apart because whichever way the pendulum swings kills the balance!
Their worlds intersected when a real human “opened the portal” by thinking bad thoughts while playing with Barbie. This caused Barbie in Barbie world to think about death and get cellulite. So she must go into the Real World to fix the problems in Barbie World.
“Woke” Messaging
The film was SO super-woke it was funny.
I almost think it mocked the woke. The opening scene had little girls playing with dolls, which was filmed in a way to say it’s boring and oppressive, and then they were inspired by a giant-sized Barbie to start tearing limbs off their baby dolls and slammed the dolls on furniture, walls and floors to break them. (This can be interpreted as pro-abortion, OR mocking the pro-aborts, who are in favor of NO limits on abortion).
There is a pregnant Barbie in the film who is labeled “weird” but I don’t think it’s a mockery of pregnant women because motherhood is lovingly portrayed in the film (the underlying story is about a real life mother/daughter bonding in their quest to save Barbie world).
Also, there is HUGE audience of mothers who (like me) once played with Barbies, so I don’t think the writer would dare criticize stay-at-home moms.
Genders
There are only 2 genders in the movie: male and female. Ken and Barbie.
I’ve heard there was a transgender woman playing a Barbie, but it wasn’t obvious which one it was.
Motherhood
The film does a good job encouraging mothers. There is a scene in the movie where Barbie is running away from oppressive corporate Mattel businessmen, and she hides in a room which is the beautiful kitchen of her inventor Ruth Handler. (A real person!)
Ruth serves her tea and gives her respite. The home environment is peaceful, healing and nurturing and she even says, “A lot of work happens in the home (kitchen) ?”, giving nod again to stay-at-home moms.
The ending scene promoted the idea of an “Ordinary Barbie”, someone who is a mom, or not a mom, or a mom who works, or a mom who doesn’t work.
In my opinion, it doesn’t bash moms.
Feminism
In Barbieland, men are accessories. (What do you expect with a tagline, “Barbie is everything. Ken is just Ken.” Ken is nothing without Barbie’s validation of his existence.
Feminism is not, on its face, a bad thing. It is a good thing that women can have bank accounts, cars, homes, and seats in the Supreme Court! It is only bad when feminism emasculates men, who then retaliate with the patriarchy.
Sisterhood
The film does a great job encouraging women’s relationships with each other. Every night is girls’ night! (The ending was cute, when Barbie tells Ken, “Maybe I’ve taken you for granted. Not every night has to be girls’ night).
America Ferrera’s Speech
The mother in the real world had a killer monologue, and here it is:
You are so beautiful and so smart and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough.
We have to always be extraordinary but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.
We have to be thin but not too thin, and we can never say we want to be thin you have to say you want to be healthy. But also you have to be thin.
You have to have money but you can’t ask for money. Because that’s crass.
You have to be a boss but you can’t be mean.
You have to lead but you can’t squash other people’s ideas.
You’re supposed to love being a mother but you don’t talk about your kids all the damn.
You have to be a career woman, but also look out for other people.
You have to answer for men’s bad behavior which is insane but if you point that out you’re accused of complaining.
Because you’re supposed to stay pretty for men but not so pretty you tempt them too much or you threaten other women. Because you’re supposed to be part of the sisterhood but always stand out.
And always be grateful but never forget that the system is rigged so find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.
You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It’s too hard, its too contradictory, and nobody gives you a medal and says thank you.
And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong but also everything is your fault.
I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single woman tie herself into knots so that people like us.
If all of that is also true of a doll just representing a woman, then I don’t even know.
Wisdom and Discernment
I saw this movie with my 15 year old daughter but not my 11 year old.
There are some sexual innuendos in the film, but they weren’t too much.
I talk to my kids a lot about the Bible v. world. This movie is a conversation starter for some good mother/daughter talks. There is even an opportunity to discuss your faith! (In the movie, Barbie meets her inventor in “Heaven”? where Ruth says, “Humans only have one ending. Ideas live forever.”)
That’s my Barbie movie review!
2nd Vote
I am not a big fan of cancel culture. However, I do believe in protecting your children from culture. Or at the very least, deciding where your money should go.
I recently discovered 2nd Vote, which conducts research on companies and where their money goes. This is very important!
Per their website:
“If you’re like a lot of us, you cast your first vote in an election every couple of years, and wonder if you’re making a difference. Whether you know it or not, you’re casting a vote every day and making a difference, sometimes in support of causes and issues that you would never support on your own. That’s where 2ndVote comes in.
You spend money at various retailers for goods and services; many that you purchase every day, like coffee. These retailers (many who are large corporations) in turn spend their revenue to support and fund issues and causes that oppose the very things you try to protect by voting the right leaders into office. 2ndVote researches and exposes what these retailers support with YOUR dollars. TAKE ACTION now by learning what your top retailers are funding that DOES NOT align with your values, and shop with those who DO.”
Check it out! I also use Plugged In to check family reviews on media and entertainment.
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