Barbie by Greta Gerwig

(Warning: there be spoilers)

So we did what everyone does and went to see Barbie at the movies¹ after we saw Oppenheimer last week (yeah not on the same day, sorry, C wouldn't).

Afterwards I found myself slightly ashamed to tell people that I've been to the movies to watch Barbie, and felt obligated to follow up with mentions of second degree and of Greta Gerwig (even though people have no idea who this is).

That being said I don't regret it at all: this is a great movie especially in set/costume design, photography, everything visual. It's the definition of eye candy. Some people compared it to Jacques Demy's stuff and, yeah, there's some of that with the pastels and the singing.

I liked the story and some of the topics that it tackles but I felt that it could have gone farther? There are plenty of video essays about feminism in the Barbie movie that I've yet to watch. One thing is certain (which was obvious since the trailer): this is not a children film. It was funny-sad to see a small girl with her parents in the theater, her Barbie doll sat on the seat next to her, only for the family to leave some 10 minutes in (though this was probably because they didn't expect OV).

Some asides: I liked when Barbie says she doesn't feel pretty enough, and the narrator breaks the fourth wall to comment: "Note to filmmakers: Margot Robbie is not the right person to cast to make this point." I really liked the 2001: A Space Odyssey opening (albeit spoiled in the trailer) along with the other film tributes (The Wizard of Oz, The Matrix etc).

So: overall a great watch. I still don't see how some people can justify watching this as a Barbenheimer double feature (besides the fact that the films came out of the same day²).

8/10