BARBIE

Well, once all the hoop-la has subsided how will this film be regarded?  Is it a missed opportunity or does it find a creative way of getting across feminist ideas to a mainstream audience?  

I tend towards the latter, although what does it say that in 2023, several decades after the feminist movement was launched, the pretty basic ideas found in this film still need communicating?

The early scenes establish the fantasy world of Barbieland, a matriarchal society where the roles of the sexes are the reverse of the real world.  I found these scenes OK but rather predictable and reminiscent of the early scenes of 'The Lego Movie'.

The film only really got going for me once Barbie and Ken (Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling) leave Barbieland and enter our world.  There are some funny scenes, especially those where Ken has to get his mind round the idea of a world where men are in charge.

I would have liked more scenes of Barbie and Ken exploring the many ways the real world differs from that of Barbieland.

On the other hand I could have done with less scenes involving Mattel executives, which I didn't find very entertaining or necessary.

I also wasn't that into the song-and-dance numbers.  But then again I'm an old fogey who hasn't enjoyed any musical of the last fifty years. 

Somehow I never got emotionally engaged in the story, but on the other hand the whole confection was entertaining, if only at times for the pink production design, and there was always enough going on in the way of ideas to stop my mind from wandering. 

RATING: ✓ If You've Nothing Better To Do