Barbie
Released in theaters on July 21, 2023
Released on HBO Max (maybe) TBA
Runtime: 1 Hour 54 Minutes
Rated PG-13
I have not seen this movie, but my friend Crystal Bishop did! This is my first guest review. When I see it I may add in my own thoughts as an update. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Crystal!
Based on the iconic doll, Barbie is a cute comedy filled with nostalgia and relatability. Barbie discovers there is an imbalance between herself and her human owner in the real world. This sends her (and stowaway Ken) on an adventure into the real world to find her human and fix what is wrong.
Themes:
Finding yourself is the biggest theme. Death and imperfections are discussed. There is also heavy feminism throughout the movie.
Language:
The word “Motherf….” Is bleeped out in one scene. The words D*mn and hell are both used. The words penis and vagina are used. There is also name calling such as bimbo, tramp, stupid, etc. There is a pretty lengthy scene on the beach where the Ken dolls in which they use the word “beach” to replace a different word. Some examples are, “I can beach harder than you can” and “I could beach all day”.
Stuff to be aware of:
At the end of another “perfect” day in Barbie World Ken asks Barbie if he should stay the night. Barbie replies with, “Why?” Ken responds with, “Because we are boyfriend/girlfriend.” There are comments about what kind of “blob” Ken is “packing.”
There is a character named Alan who is a discontinued Barbie doll. He is constantly staring at the shirtless Ken dolls. There are some men that check Ken out. There is another discontinued Barbie whose chest can inflate and deflate. When Barbie enters the real world, several men immediately cat call her. There are pickup lines such, “is that a mirror in your pants?” Death and imperfections are talked about multiple times throughout the movie. One character goes to see an OBGYN. There is also some drinking.
Overall:
I absolutely loved playing with Barbie dolls as a little girl. At one point I owned 11 and loved each and every one of them! I was definitely excited for the release of this movie! Unfortunately, the nostalgia just wasn’t enough for me to like this movie. It kind of felt like they took a bunch of styles of movies and stuck them into one, which some people might enjoy, but I felt whiplashed. I would have enjoyed it so much more if they focused more on the character growth of Barbie, Ken, and the human mother/daughter and less on “It’s a Man’s World” aspect. As a mother of a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old I would not take my children to see this movie. I agree with the PG-13 rating, but still make sure and talk to your kids about the world view of feminism before seeing it.