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The reviews are in for the movie about the most famous doll in the world.
“Barbie” has received an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is generally better than the average film.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye said the movie lives up to its early tagline of “If you love Barbie…if you hate Barbie, this movie’s for you.”
“The director has successfully etched her signature into and drawn deeper themes out of a rigid framework, but the sacrifices to the story are clear,” she wrote. “The muddied politics and flat emotional landing of ‘Barbie’ are signs that the picture ultimately serves a brand.”
“The verdict? Never doubt Gerwig,” wrote Entertainment Weekly’s Devan Coggan. “The Oscar-nominated filmmaker has crafted a fierce, funny, and deeply feminist adventure that dares you to laugh and cry, even if you’re made of plastic. It’s certainly the only summer blockbuster to pair insightful criticisms of the wage gap with goofy gags about Kens threatening to ‘beach’ each other off.”
BBC’s Nicholas Barber commended Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach for not wasting “time in racing through the scenes you might anticipate. Their exuberantly eccentric fairy tale has some of the dark, angst-ridden surrealism of Charlie Kaufman and the meticulous eeriness of Stanley Kubrick.”
Rolling Stone has named the film the “most subversive blockbuster of the 21st century.”
“Rather than turn away from the baggage, the movie unpacks it,” wrote the magazine’s David Fear. “What was it about these dolls we loved, and what is it about them that now causes such divisive emotional reactions? Let’s not just drop Barbie and Ken into the real world circa 2023 — let’s have them question what it means to be plastic role models that run up against modern attitudes about womanhood and Neanderthal notions of manhood.”
While the reviews were mostly positive, there were some who weren’t impressed.
The Sun’s Dulcie Pearce dubbed the film a “hot pink mess.”
“A hamster wheel of relentless identity crises, musical numbers, tears, tantrums, bland feminist speeches, questionable acting from the huge cast and Ken suddenly turning into a deranged ex-boyfriend,” wrote Pearce.
“Barbie” hits theaters on July 21.
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