I realize that this won't be at - or even close - to the top of must-see movie lists for most (any?) Audioholics forum members. It certainly wasn't for me and wasn't even on my radar. Anyway, last night after supper, my wife says, "I picked us a movie to watch". I was intrigued, because she doesn't normally pick the movies we watch. Over the years, she has liked - or tolerated - most of my picks, so I told myself that I would watch hers no matter what it was. While I finished cleaning up in the kitchen, she headed to the rec room to cue up the evening's entertainment. I should have realized that something was up when she said, "Before you come down, you may want to pour yourself a dram". Needing little encouragement, I did just that. I was halfway down the stairs, drink in hand, when I stopped in my tracks as I saw what was on the screen. "Ummm, did you rent this?", I said. "No", she responded. "It just became available on Crave". So, we watched it. And....I didn't hate it.
The themes are as subtle as a 2 x 4 across the forehead. Barbieland is a utopia, because it's run by Barbies, while all the Kens are dim-witted, emasculated, and treated with mild contempt by all the Barbies. It's supposed to be a role-reversal compared with the "real" world. Of course, the real world is more complicated than that. When Margot Robbie's Barbie and Ryan Gosling's Ken find themselves in the real world and discover that Barbieland isn't a reflection of reality, Barbie has an existential crisis, while Ken - discovering the "patriarchy" - thinks, "Ooooo, I want some of this".
There's little room for nuance in this movie and that is probably my biggest beef. That aside, I thought the script was good and the performances - especially from Robbie and Gosling - were brilliant. In fact, Gosling absolutely stole the show. He was hilarious as Ken.
The last twenty minutes dragged a bit, as the movie took on a more serious tone, and I was looking forward to it ending. But overall, I enjoyed it. Will I watch it again? "Never" is along time, but I don't foresee myself wanting to see it again. So, if a significant other asks you to watch it, it's just a couple hours of your life. It won't kill you and who knows, you may be able to tolerate/enjoy it.
