From the second the giant Mattel logo showed up on the screen at the start of the movie, till the colorful ending credits, I had the most magical time watching “Barbie” in a movie theater with my friends.
The hype for Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie has been real and high ever since the first trailer came out months ago, but I’m happy to report that the film was every thing I wanted, and more!
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It is funny, smart, silly, campy, visually stunning, and I know I’ve already said it, but really, really funny. Like, laugh out loud funny. The jokes come quick, and every actor is 100% committed to the bit that they are all playing Barbies and Kens.
Margot Robbie, who plays our titular Barbie, not only looks like the perfect Barbie, but she shines in the role. Her comedic timing is just unmatched. While she’s mostly known for her serious roles, she really is a fabulous comedic actress. Just take a look back at her roles in “Wolf of Wall Street” and “I, Tonya,” and it totally makes sense that she’d nail the comedy of this movie.
The real star of the movie, however, is Ryan Gosling as Ken. Well, one of the Kens.
Again, we all know Gosling from his dramatic work (hello, “The Notebook,”), but his comedic chops are really something. One of my favorite episodes of “Saturday Night Live” was when he hosted back in 2015, and you can tell that he used that experience to help inform his performance as Ken.
Just like Ken says in the movie, Gosling is fully living the “Kenergy” life. He’s fully embodying what it means to be a “himbo” (that’s a male version of a bimbo), and he steals every single scene he’s in. I’m being fully serious when I say he should be nominated for an Oscar for this movie. It has to be one of the best comedic performances in a movie since Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids.”
Every thing about “Barbie” was magical, but seeing it in a movie theater full of people who were just as excited to see it as me was the cherry on top.
When I entered the movie theater with 10 of my friends, we all had matching Barbie shirts on, and the people leaving the theater were all dressed in pink. As we took our seats and the sold-out show started to fill up, people were decked out in Barbie merch and tons of pink. It honestly reminded me of going to see a “Harry Potter” movie in the early 2000s when everyone would dress up to see the movie.
Everyone in the theater laughed at all the jokes, clapped at hilarious and epic moments and truly enjoyed themselves. I heard multiple people walking out of theater saying they couldn’t wait to see the movie again, myself included. I’m ready to make it my entire personality, and I don’t care how annoying I’m about to be!
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, I’ve been a reluctant to see movies in the theater again, but having this shared experience of seeing “Barbie” in a theater full of people having a genuinely good time was priceless.
If you plan on seeing “Barbie” over the next few weeks, get ready for a good time. And remember, this is a comedy! It’s silly, campy and is satire. It’s not supposed to be taken seriously. You can tell that everyone involved in making this movie had the best time, and it shows in the work.
Just buckle up and enjoy the ride in Barbie’s convertible Corvette!
You can watch the trailer for “Barbie” below.