Why Barbie has BETTER WRITING than you think...

I'm not seeing cinema-goers discuss Barbie the way it deserves. The masses are loving it, but my more film-inclined friends remain silent- favoring discussions on Oppenheimer or Asteroid City.

The Barbie movie shouldn't be anything. It's financed by an inept toy company that, after Barbie’s success, wants to make View-Master and Bass Fishin’ movies. It's a dumb kids' property clearly directing itself to the demographic of young girls, right? No… no, this is a thematically driven film meant primarily for adults. From the lightest elements like humor and film technique to the heavier elements of character and theme, this film holds itself up just as strong as the best movies from the last decade.

This is prestige cinema, and the 2001 Space Odyssey intro was a clue in to that.

Humor Zoomer. Is the New Barbie Movie Funny?

You'll not find me explaining jokes and why they work. The only point to make here is that Barbie is very much a feminist movie. In my lifetime, feminist-marketed comedies are the worst in each year of release. This film's jokes are primarily in-character, in-world, higher-class humor. The humor is neither crass "I'm relatable, amiright ladies," nor is it corporatized kids' humor. Again and again, they made a joke, and I had to gawk at my friend cause there was just no way they said that. For this 24-year-old Call of Duty gamer, Barbie was significantly funnier than Guardians of the Galaxy 3. So there's that.

Characterization Specialization. Who are the Characters in the Barbie Movie?

Barbie checks all its boxes with side characters and one-off gags, all being show-stealers in any lesser film. One reason kid shows stay with us our whole lives— In yesteryear, they were made to sell toys. Crafting your stories to give all their gravitas in elevating character = kids buying more He-Man. This practice continued well into the 2000s, and as adults, we still think about the iconic characters of our youth— When you write character, you want that. You want the characters you write to be iconic, outside of the story, outside of an archetype, outside of funny side gags. You want to create that pivotal figure that sticks in young minds. Barbie does this with it's leads.

Barbie, the toy, is an ideal. Margot Robbie completely encompasses that, which is insane… since her character is literally named "Stereotypical Barbie." Just wait to see what they can do with transformative characterization…

Ken isn't really anything in the collective zeitgeist. Other than Toy Story, we don't all have an image of what Ken Doll's character should be. So the Barbie movie had to fashion one and, by golly, do they exceed the bar. Ken is our Antagonist. Like any great antagonist, his personality and motivations are biting and multi-dimensional. He's used to represent "stereotypical men," and that's some thin ice to tread. Yet, They cut through it precisely, with hilarious and poignant vision. Some nobodies on the internet think it's anti-man, but my female accompaniment kept elbowing me whenever Ken did anything. He was written to represent toxic traits in men, and he does.

Groundbreaking Filmmaking

We've seen a rise in dumb film quality these past few years- Prestige action movies like Bullet Train make a laughing stock of the action genre; Cringe grind-house movies like Violent Night look as good as Lawrence of Arabia; and the best movie last year was the sequel to a Shrek spin-off. The Barbie movie has the kind of experimental love we see in indie movies like Sorry to Bother You. It has the type of aesthetic skill we see in something like Drive. It has the quirky art direction of a Wes Anderson film. There's unironically a surrealist interpretive dance sequence that breaks both the fourth wall and the film's internal logic just to pound down the inner struggle of the antagonist.

Film geeks, what am I missing? Where's the love for this movie?

Well, okay then. What do the writers think?

Plot, Pacing, Structure Rupture. How is the Plot of Barbie?

For the majority of the film, these elements are just as strong as any. The filmmakers had fun with this one, but unlike many arthouse films, they didn't sacrifice the basics to do so. Barbie's plot doesn't feel convoluted, nor is it ever simple enough to bore you. It's character-driven, and the visionaries behind this created a thick thematic duality between those driving characters. All the film had to do was follow these two journeys through, and that it did. While seeing everything through, the third act is unconventionally long. However, it never drags because that core conflict is still going strong.

Considerations have to be made for the story outside of character journey though, and sometimes you need to write a relatively complex plot point. In the first part of the third act, perhaps overshadowed by the necessity to perfect the climax, someone, clearly in first draft, suggested a weak sequence that made it into the final film. Barbie and team bring the other Barbies to their senses and all the surrounding dialogue. This ten-minute portion of the film feels unpolished and, unlike the rest, has poorly considered thematic ramifications.

Theme King

The central, most crucial element of storytelling, and somehow something so often misunderstood or downright disregarded.

Barbie feels like it was made by a human being with something to say. It's a feminist movie, and it does carry feminist themes. The big twist evil in this film is patriarchy, but it's not this looming evil that takes over in the third act. Instead, it's depicted as this pre-existing reality that our characters interpret and interact with as part of their journey. It's natural. If you're unsocialized, you might not understand that something can be well done, even if you disagree with its messaging. That shouldn't be a problem for anyone who actually watches the movie, as it does an excellent job of exploring different avenues of perspective. Many films try to say something. This one very clearly says something while offering nuance in it's fairly abrasive take.

Don't demonize me when I say- I'm not a self-identifying feminist. I avoid aligning myself with large political groups, as they, like death and taxes, are a necessary evil for growth in this world. I don't tend toward group ideology, and I find the propaganda therein dehumanizing. I'm not immersed enough to understand the totality of pros and cons that make up the feminist movement. Understanding writing and mental illness are my focused fights for the time being. I'm telling you who I am so you can gain value from my subjective take here- I found Barbie's themes abrasive, confronting but holistically considered. Important messaging for many people in the world to hear. Even if you're not one of those many, you can still take away that your girlfriend doesn't want you to talk about Snyder Cut for 4 hours.

Finale, Shall We?

Achieving any one or two of the above levels of prestige is difficult, yes, but attainable. To shoot for all of the above is rare. To shoot for and home-run nearly every element that makes cinema great, you don't see a movie like that more than once every five years.

If you have a love for writing or for filmmaking, give Barbie a rewatch. Let me know what you find.

Before you commit to that, though, Komodo Creative Collective has written a few other articles on the real-world intrigue around the Barbie movie, with some fascinating info to glance over. Also coming soon- writings on several other 2023 blockbusters, including Indiana Jones 5 and John Wick 4, for the meatheads like me who don't keep up on their modern cinema.