I'm in Europe and it got one of the biggest laughs at my showing
Also it's okay if not literally everybody understands every single joke
Barbie |OT| Life in plastic, it's fantastic!
- Thread starter DinkyDev
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Also it's okay if not literally everybody understands every single joke
Saw it opening day, Great movie Me and everyone in my audience were wearing pink. I ended up enjoying it more than Oppenheimer. My girl Greta Gerwig has yet to do me wrong.
I knew this movie was going to kill it in the Box office
I knew this movie was going to kill it in the Box office
It's interesting how many people see a movie designed for women by women, with an abundance of the traditionally feminine, and attribute to it having been made for children. Like sure if all you knew about it was the poster, logo and that it was a Barbie movie. To have actually watched it though and still think it's a kids movie is just weird to me.
Ken is funny. The memes sell the movie and it has catchy songs.
Don't think it's that strange this movie is doing well. It's also together with Openheimer a stand alone movie (no two parters) and a movie you can visit with the whole family
He can have a special award called a Harmon - Oscar's little buddy. (Looks the same as an Oscar but wears all the same clothes as one!)
I'm not entirely convinced that poster even saw the movie. They were posting about how bad it would be since over a month ago and their criticisms are either vague or pulled from comments others made in this same thread.
It generally felt very tame to me, to be honest. Like she was struggling between trying to make the movie more kid-friendly or more focused on adults. Some of you mention some of the jokes (like the masturbation ones), but tbh even the shows we watched as kids got away with stuff we never even realized because we were so young. What I meant is more of the existential Barbie aspect of the film (which, again, I don't think she was able to push too hard on, because younger audiences were most likely never going to get much, tbh). Like parts of the film almost make it seem like very different films to me (one of the scenes being the ending where
Barbie is having that deep conversation with Barbie's creator on what she'd want to do of her life
And Mattel being depicted as 'the bad guys' is not super shocking considering a number of other kid films/shows depicting the executives as bad guys (and I hardly think Mattel would think it would hurt their sales at all).
This sounds...awful. Test audiences really came through with this
www.indiewire.com
There’s a Version of ‘Barbie’ That Had a ‘Fart Opera’
Greta Gerwig and Nick Houy haven't snuck a fart joke into their films yet, but they have mastered building humor into intricately structured movies.
www.indiewire.com
Yeah if anything I'd believe most of the things the Mattel CEO said were things Greta actually probably heard in production meetings/notes for the movie thrown right into the movie. Especially them being mad that Ken's ending wasn't just him getting with Barbie that killed me.
Watched it today and whilst I went in expecting it to be good, it ended up being fantastic. Whole cast was great but Ryan Gosling really was amazing.
The whole... sequence from the Ken song to the fight on the beach was 10/10. The wall joke was hilarious. .
Such a good movie.
The whole... sequence from the Ken song to the fight on the beach was 10/10. The wall joke was hilarious. .
Such a good movie.
saw the movie for the second time yesterday. It was a funny and great as the first time. This time I did get the point of the scene at the bus stop with the senior lady. That scene flew way over my head on my first viewing but my friends understood inmidiately what it meant. I still think the mattle executives have the lowest lows in the movie and that instead of that silly Chevrolet commercial they should have used that time to explore more the relationship sasha and gloria have.
Yeah without the bus scene the ending decision has way less impact
Little Women definitely could have used a few fart jokes, though.This sounds...awful. Test audiences really came through with this
There’s a Version of ‘Barbie’ That Had a ‘Fart Opera’
Greta Gerwig and Nick Houy haven't snuck a fart joke into their films yet, but they have mastered building humor into intricately structured movies.
I just watched it, hated it.
I think the idea behind it was good but the execution was terrible, awful "jokes", turning men into caritures, even those in the real world, i think diminishes what Barbies and human women accomolished, men are so stupid, out smarting then means nothing, and closing with THAT joke, terrible.
One of the worse movies i've seen in a theater in a long time.
In the end, my take is, women deserve better than this awful movie speaking for them.
I think the idea behind it was good but the execution was terrible, awful "jokes", turning men into caritures, even those in the real world, i think diminishes what Barbies and human women accomolished, men are so stupid, out smarting then means nothing, and closing with THAT joke, terrible.
One of the worse movies i've seen in a theater in a long time.
In the end, my take is, women deserve better than this awful movie speaking for them.
I don't think the Ken's were caricatures anymore than the Barbies, outside of Weird and Robbie. Gosling went through a whole arc and Alan is a huge standout with tons of the audience. A lot of the stuff men do seem to be pretty broad and observational. Like I myself have over explained a classic bro movie and I've seen tons of dudes play acoustic guitar at parties to try to impress women. I loved all the jokes, but I'm also a terminally online coastal liberal so its laser targeted at me.
There seems to be an interesting take of people claiming this film has 'failed women', when in actuality most people, women included, seem to have reacted incredibly positively to the film, it's jokes, it's high-concept scenarios, it's drama and it's themes.
When I went on opening weekend the cinema was packed and so many people of all ages and genders were dressed up, it's truly an Event movie and I love that.
All the jokes landed, the emotional scenes hit, it entertained nearly everyone as far as I could tell; women, girls, men.
There were zero walk-outs and no one was chatting throughout the film. One of my fondest cinema experiences I'll remember for a while.
When I went on opening weekend the cinema was packed and so many people of all ages and genders were dressed up, it's truly an Event movie and I love that.
All the jokes landed, the emotional scenes hit, it entertained nearly everyone as far as I could tell; women, girls, men.
There were zero walk-outs and no one was chatting throughout the film. One of my fondest cinema experiences I'll remember for a while.
I keep coming back to the joke at the end about Kens in Barbieland having just as much power as women have in the real world.
I don't know how to take it—except as "Stop and consider the state of the real world before you get mad about men ever so slightly getting the short end of the stick for once in a movie."
I would even say it has big "don't @ me" energy.
For a character that comes pretty close to an incel tormentor, Gosling's Ken was treated with an awful lot of empathy. Like it would have been so easy to make him just a real piece of shit, but his emotions and grievances were never disregarded outright.
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I worry about the men feeling called out by Ken instead of elated. All of the Kens got a lot more leniency than they deserved for turning Barbieland into a patriarchal hellhole, for one thing. Barbie is also able to empathize and validate Ken's feelings of worthlessness, and empowers him to find his own self identity. The movie simultaneously shits on incel culture while also saying there's a healthy out for men in this cycle.
The movie gets that a lot of guys build their entire world around attention and how they're perceived and the way that mindset set them up to crumble. It's super easy to never self reflect and get dragged into all kinds of nonsense because the world doesn't revolve around Kens.
I personally don't like "battle of the sexes" as a trope for its reliance on gender stereotypes, but I felt like there was enough context in this movie to make it work. Partly because Barbies and Kens are, in a way, facsimiles of women/men, and partly because Ken's understanding of patriarchy and masculinity is shallow on purpose. It all serves the points the movie wants to make, too.
What an awful movie. Feels like it had a bazillion rewrites. Paced oddly too. I guess it feels like a parody type film which wasnt what I expected
The message resonates though and the godfather joke was the best. Men talking about the superiority of that movie will never not be annoying
But pretty disappointing film overall. Though not even sure what I expected overall.
The message resonates though and the godfather joke was the best. Men talking about the superiority of that movie will never not be annoying
But pretty disappointing film overall. Though not even sure what I expected overall.
First thing we did back from holiday was seeing this, lol. Packed theater, with lots and lots and lots of people wearing pink. Amazing theater experience, with people just cracking up so many times.
I liked it, but didn't love it as much as I'd hoped. Especially the real-world section didn't work as well for me. In Barbie-world the movie sings, outside of it it dragged a bit. I'm undecided on the Mattel execs too. I found it weird how they acted so fantastical, and it made it harder to take the real world as the real world. I understand the choice, as the Mattel execs do have to handle with the existance of Barbieworld at face value, but it still made the world a bit messy for me (the way they played it all so big kind of hurt the satire of patricarch execs and false allies for me too)
I also found the movie to be way to hard on the nose at times. Characters spelling out the message literally, or just saying what they think in stead of just showing it. There is a part where Barbie cries and says something like: that felt bad but good too, and that she just spelled it out for me just hurt a beautiful moment. A lot of the realisations and lessons are brought by people telling it straight to Barbie, in stead of her really discovering or experiencing it herself through the drama. It's a shame, because I think the movie doesn't need it, because the discovery scenes are also there. It just feels redundant Barbie needs someone to tell her what she experienced means.
Apart from that, I had an amazing time. Especially the second half when with Kendomland the conflict comes to Barbieworld is a great mix of comedy, satire and critique on society. The art design, acting, music, direction all sing in those sections too. I also liked how the movie isn't just about the female experience in a patriarchal world, but also takes into account how confusing the world can be for men, and that toxic behavior can be a symptom of e.g. insecurities.
That final line cracked me up good by the way, holy shit I did not see that coming, haha. My wife was in stitches too.
I liked it, but didn't love it as much as I'd hoped. Especially the real-world section didn't work as well for me. In Barbie-world the movie sings, outside of it it dragged a bit. I'm undecided on the Mattel execs too. I found it weird how they acted so fantastical, and it made it harder to take the real world as the real world. I understand the choice, as the Mattel execs do have to handle with the existance of Barbieworld at face value, but it still made the world a bit messy for me (the way they played it all so big kind of hurt the satire of patricarch execs and false allies for me too)
I also found the movie to be way to hard on the nose at times. Characters spelling out the message literally, or just saying what they think in stead of just showing it. There is a part where Barbie cries and says something like: that felt bad but good too, and that she just spelled it out for me just hurt a beautiful moment. A lot of the realisations and lessons are brought by people telling it straight to Barbie, in stead of her really discovering or experiencing it herself through the drama. It's a shame, because I think the movie doesn't need it, because the discovery scenes are also there. It just feels redundant Barbie needs someone to tell her what she experienced means.
Apart from that, I had an amazing time. Especially the second half when with Kendomland the conflict comes to Barbieworld is a great mix of comedy, satire and critique on society. The art design, acting, music, direction all sing in those sections too. I also liked how the movie isn't just about the female experience in a patriarchal world, but also takes into account how confusing the world can be for men, and that toxic behavior can be a symptom of e.g. insecurities.
That final line cracked me up good by the way, holy shit I did not see that coming, haha. My wife was in stitches too.
Please tell us in your manly wisdom, what is best for the misguided and ignorant women. How will the women ever survive in this world without a man such as you who can set them on the right path of proper representation in media. /s
This is an especially funny take considering the film specifically calls out men saying stuff like this.
I know where people are coming from when they have this opinion, but even when it's so clearly laid out, I still see people misinterpreting it. The satire is not subtle. I think it's a deliberate style choice more than her lack of ability to tone it down.
As for the Mattel people being totally non-real, again I think a lot of it has to do with stylistic choices the director made. For example, Greta referenced a number of absurdist sources as influences in the movie. Case in point....
She unashamedly takes inspiration from a large number of sources.
Greta Gerwig’s Official Barbie Watchlist
In a Letterboxd exclusive, director Greta Gerwig guides us through her official watchlist of films that influenced Barbie. She starts with 29 films and adds ...
www.youtube.com
Of course it's a deliberate choice (and I know the work of Tati), I just believe it doesn't work that well.I know where people are coming from when they have this opinion, but even when it's so clearly laid out, I still see people misinterpreting it. The satire is not subtle. I think it's a deliberate style choice more than her lack of ability to tone it down.
As for the Mattel people being totally non-real, again I think a lot of it has to do with stylistic choices the director made. For example, Greta referenced a number of absurdist sources as influences in the movie. Case in point....
She unashamedly takes inspiration from a large number of sources.
Greta Gerwig’s Official Barbie Watchlist
In a Letterboxd exclusive, director Greta Gerwig guides us through her official watchlist of films that influenced Barbie. She starts with 29 films and adds ...
The problem isn't per se for me that the satire is so unsubtle (except for the Mattel guys, which is an issue with style and direction), but that the emotional core is. Even in a plastic world with naive dolls learning about the realities of human society, I don't want to be spoonfed in dialogue the morale or emotion I allready experienced from the scene itself.
I wouldn't even say they were "bad guys" in the traditional sense of the world even. It struck me that Mattel HQ was as bizarre and unhinged as Barbieland, and was the only real world place that was absurd. I mean a ghost kept an office on the 7th floor!
And then by the time they get to barbieland, they just kinda fade away only for will ferrel's character to give a sappy "I didn't mean to be this mean" speech
Fair enough, not a home run for you. I do share some of your thoughts, but I wonder if I'd like it as much if it were done differently. I kinda liked the overt messaging.
Regarding the crying scene, she does vocalise every new experience, like she's trying to describe it to herself, so to me it felt natural for her. When she's more human at the end of the movie she stops doing this and becomes, well, more human.
Finally saw this yesterday. Loved it. So many of the jokes hit, but the ones that killed me were the business guy in the real world saying, "we're just better at hiding it," the godfather joke, and the line about Zack Snyder's Justice League. Just all excellent.
Although, I did call our house our Mojo Dojo Casa House afterwards and my girlfriend did not like that lol.
Although, I did call our house our Mojo Dojo Casa House afterwards and my girlfriend did not like that lol.
That was a though I had too, that because she's a doll you can get away with it. But it still felt like I've been told what had just been shown, and I don't like that. And there are more instances like this where I felt it took away from the film more than it added.
Agreed. They were mostly portrayed as goofy and oblivious (while perpetrating a hierarchy within their company where men are perpetually on the top and are disconnected of women's issues and the challenges they face -- which I don't really know if most kids actually got; I'm sure most of them did, but I don't have children so I wouldn't know, lol). While I get the message, to me it wasn't really executed in a funny way. Ironically, Amy Schumer had a skit with this same message (more or less) in her show "Inside Amy Schumer", that I thought was 10x funnier (also I say ironically, because apparently Schumer had a role in Barbie at some point?).
My wife and I saw it last night.
We are so-so on it.
The humor didn't work for us that much. My wife felt it was too tropey. While we agreed with the message it just beat you over the head with it with zero subtlety.
Absolutely loved the production design. The Ken song was my wife's favorite part.
We are so-so on it.
The humor didn't work for us that much. My wife felt it was too tropey. While we agreed with the message it just beat you over the head with it with zero subtlety.
Absolutely loved the production design. The Ken song was my wife's favorite part.
Playtime!! Oh that is perfect.I know where people are coming from when they have this opinion, but even when it's so clearly laid out, I still see people misinterpreting it. The satire is not subtle. I think it's a deliberate style choice more than her lack of ability to tone it down.
As for the Mattel people being totally non-real, again I think a lot of it has to do with stylistic choices the director made. For example, Greta referenced a number of absurdist sources as influences in the movie. Case in point....
She unashamedly takes inspiration from a large number of sources.
Greta Gerwig’s Official Barbie Watchlist
In a Letterboxd exclusive, director Greta Gerwig guides us through her official watchlist of films that influenced Barbie. She starts with 29 films and adds ...
