Barbie

In cinemas now

Growing up is hard. There are so many choices to make, pressures to face, and a desperate need to be liked. Particularly in today’s society, where social media and politics are arguably more prevalent in young people’s lives than ever before.

However, I feel like this is something a lot of people forget, or simply choose to not think about.

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is all about the difficulties of growing up in a world in which so many gender stereotypes and expectations are forced upon you. It’s about the divide between men and women, and how to cope as a woman in a world governed by men. It’s about micro-aggressions and how they are normalised by the patriarchy. And it’s about motherhood and the sacred relationship between mother and child.

And that’s what makes Barbie so unbelievably special. It really pushes the boundaries, not just with its commentary on gender and the human condition, but also because it doesn’t glorify the Barbie brand at any point. I’m very surprised Mattel even allowed a lot of the jokes present here (someone even drops an f-bomb at one point?!). On that point, I’d like to clarify that Barbie is certainly not for children and if you think that’s the case, you may want to re-evaluate that.

On top of the fantastic story and concepts at play, the performances are also superb, with Ryan Gosling’s Ken and Michael Cera’s Allan being particular stand-outs for me. And, as you may have seen in the marketing, the set and prop design is absolutely off the charts, with every little thing in Barbieland making it feel as though you’ve been dropped into one of the play-sets.

The colours pop, the music’s energetic, the jokes hit, the emotional beats hit even harder, making this a total must-see for any audience.