Alicia Garcia de Francisco |
Madrid (EFE).- With pink as the flag and fun as the goal, “Barbie” hits theaters this Thursday, a very good entertainment with Margot Robbie as the famous doll, accompanied by Ryan Gosling, in a story full of irony and self-criticism, directed by Greta Gerwig.
A surprise and a real shot of energy in a film that plays with all the stereotypes surrounding the doll, but with a twist of humor, fresh self-parody and also social criticism, something that doesn’t seem to fit in with the Barbie world but fits perfectly in the script written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.
Precisely when it was announced that this couple -both in the cinema and in real life-, who are the kings of independent cinema in the United States, would be responsible for bringing Barbie to the cinema, there were reactions that were less than doubtful about what they would do with a story like this.
Script written in pandemic
They began writing the script in 2019, in the midst of a pandemic. Gerwig had to his credit “Nights and Weekends” (2008), “Lady Bird” (2017) and the umpteenth version of “Little Women” (2019). And Baumbach a longer career that included “A Brooklyn Story” (2005) “Frances Ha” (2012, starring his wife) or “Marriage Stories” (2019).
Titles far removed from the concept expected from a movie about “Barbie”, a Mattel project that was in the hands of Sony for years before moving on to Warner and to Margot Robbie, who became a producer as well as the protagonist of the film.
Gerwig and Baumbach have built a much more intelligent story than one would expect from a film about a stereotypical and cheesy doll that has already starred in memorable moments, as a toy, in the “Toy Story” saga.
Now Robbie plays one of the many Barbies who live in Barbieland, a world of eternal bliss and fantasy where women rule everything and men – including Gosling’s Ken – are mere sidekicks of supreme worthlessness.
But Barbie/Robbie -there are other Barbies played by Dua Lipa, Nicola Coughlan or Hari Nef- begins to think about death and decides to travel to the real world, where men dominate everything and where their striking outfits are more a reason for laughter than admiration.
Social criticism and female empowerment
Social criticism, female empowerment, a few touches of political correctness -there is even a Barbie in a wheelchair- and, above all, a lot of humor and self-parody in a film that aims to be a summer blockbuster, despite the fact that titles such as “Openheimer” by Christopher Nolan now coincide in theaters; “Mission Impossible: Deadly Judgment Part 1,” with Tom Cruise; “Elemental”, by Pixar, or “Vacaciones de verano”, by Santiago Segura.
But it will be hard to resist a movie in which Barbie is branded a fascist, with voice-over comments about Margot Robbie’s insulting beauty, or in which Gosling copies the look of Silvester Stallone from his heyday, wearing a fur coat over his bare chest.
Without forgetting the musical numbers that dot the narration, with rhythm and disco aesthetics, and a soundtrack with songs by artists such as Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Haim or Nicki Minaj with Ice Spice.
Or the Hispanic accent put on by America Ferrera, a Barbie fan with more head than the blonde doll, in a story that also includes Will Ferrel (the CEO of Mattel), John Cena (one of the Kens) or Rhea Perlman, in a small but important role for the story.
An enormous display of fantasy and color for one of the most anticipated titles of the year, so much so that the doll has become fashionable again -sales have skyrocketed, especially of the older models-, the color pink -with special collections from the most popular fashion brands- and all the aesthetics that surround Barbies.
Something that the manufacturer Mattel is taking advantage of, which has let the film laugh without complexes at its star toy and which is taking advantage of the boom by launching a new collection in honor of the film.