Barbie

ABOUT THE MOVIE

Barbie is a 2023 American fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig from a screenplay she wrote with Noah Baumbach. Based on the eponymous fashion dolls by Mattel, it is the first live-action Barbie film after numerous computer-animated films and specials. The film stars Margot Robbie as the title character and Ryan Gosling as Ken, and follows the pair on a journey of self-discovery following an existential crisis. The supporting cast includes America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell.

PLOT

Stereotypical Barbie (“Barbie”) and fellow dolls reside in Barbieland, a matriarchal society populated by different versions of Barbies, Kens, and a group of discontinued models, who are treated like outcasts due to their unconventional traits. While the Kens spend their days playing at the beach, considering it their profession, the Barbies hold prestigious jobs such as doctor, lawyer, and politician. Beach Ken (“Ken”) is only happy when he is with Barbie and seeks a closer relationship, but Barbie rebuffs him in favor of other activities and female friendships.

One evening at a dance party, Barbie is suddenly stricken with worries about mortality. Overnight, she develops bad breath, cellulite, and flat feet, disrupting her usual routines the next day. Weird Barbie, an outcast due to her disfigurement, tells her she must find the child playing with her in the real world to cure her afflictions. Ken stows away in her convertible to join her, to which Barbie reluctantly agrees.

Arriving at Venice Beach, Barbie punches a man for groping her, leading to her and Ken’s brief arrest. Alarmed by their presence, Mattel’s CEO orders their recapture. Barbie tracks down her owner, a tween girl named Sasha, who criticizes her for encouraging unrealistic beauty standards. Distraught, Barbie discovers that Gloria, a Mattel employee and Sasha’s mother, inadvertently catalyzed her existential crisis after Gloria began playing with Sasha’s old Barbie toys in a similar state. Mattel attempts to put Barbie in a toy box for remanufacturing, but she escapes with Gloria and Sasha’s help and the three travel to Barbieland with Mattel executives in pursuit.

Meanwhile, Ken learns about the patriarchal system and feels respected for the first time. Returning to Barbieland, he persuades the other Kens to take over, and the Barbies are indoctrinated into submissive roles, such as agreeable girlfriends, housewives, and maids. Barbie arrives and unsuccessfully tries to convince Ken and the other Barbies to return to the way things were. She becomes depressed, but Gloria gives an inspirational speech about society’s conflicting expectations of women, which restores Barbie’s self-confidence.

With the assistance of Sasha, Weird Barbie, Allan, and the discontinued dolls, Gloria’s speeches deprogram the Barbies from their indoctrination.

The Barbies manipulate the Kens into fighting amongst themselves, distracting them from enshrining male superiority into Barbieland’s constitution, and the Barbies regain power. Having now experienced systemic oppression for themselves, the Barbies resolve to rectify the faults of their previous society, emphasizing better treatment of the Kens and all outcasts.

Barbie and Ken apologize to each other, acknowledging their mistakes. Ken bemoans that he has no purpose without Barbie, so Barbie encourages him to find an autonomous identity. Barbie, who remains unsure of her own identity, meets with the spirit of Ruth Handler, Mattel co-founder and creator of the Barbie doll, who explains that Barbie’s story has no set ending and her ever-evolving history surpasses her roots.

She decides to become human and return to the real world, and is bid goodbye by the Barbies, Kens, and Mattel executives. Sometime later, Gloria, her husband, and Sasha take Barbie, now going by the name “Barbara Handler”, to her first gynecologist’s appointment.