BARBIE : Tuesday 1st August 2023

I saw the much hyped PG Rated fantasy comedy 'BARBIE' this week that is Co-Written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach and Directed by Greta Gerwig, and is based on the Barbie fashion dolls by the world's second largest toy maker, Mattel. The film is the first live-action Barbie film after many computer-animated direct-to-video and streaming TV films. Greta Gerwig's previous feature film making credits are her debut with Joe Swanberg on 'Nights and Weekends' in 2008, before her breakout 'Lady Bird' in 2017, and then 'Little Women' in 2019. This film saw its World Premier screening in Los Angeles in early July before its wide release in most territories from 21st July, cost in the region of US$135M to produce, has so far raked in US$824M at the global Box Office and has garnered mostly positive critical reviews.

The film opens up with a riff on Stanley Kubricks's '2001 : A Space Odyssey' in which a bunch of young girls are seen playing with their baby dolls in the desert. The narrator (Helen Mirren) tells us that for a very long time girls have always played at being mother to their baby dolls . . . until one day when Barbie (Margot Robbie, who also Co-Produces here) stands tall amongst them and everything changed. At that the young girls start smashing their baby dolls into the ground, kicking them and destroying them wantonly, together with their tea sets, little prams and all the paraphernalia that goes with the innocent childrens playtime. 

We next encounter Barbie, named Stereotypical Barbie, and a whole host of other Barbie's all living in the perfect world of Barbieland - a matriarchal society where women are confident, successful and hold the power base. Their Ken counterparts spend their days at the beach while the Barbie's hold down all the important jobs - there is a President Barbie (Issa Rae), a Physicist Barbie (Emma Mackey), a Lawyer Barbie (Sharon Rooney), a Judge Barbie (Ana Cruze Kayne) and a Writer Barbie (Alexandra Shipp) amongst others. Beach Ken (Ryan Gosling) is happiest when he is close to Stereotypical Barbie and seeks more from their relationship, but doesn't altogether know why, and is rebuffed anyhow by Barbie who wishes to maintain her independence and her close friendships with all the other Barbie's. 

That night at a dance party at her house, when all the Barbie's are dancing and the Ken's are all stood on the sidelines watching on, Barbie suddenly blurts out if anyone has ever thought about dying. At that the music comes to a grinding halt, all the Barbie's stop dancing and are motionless, and no one utters a word, except they all have horrified expressions on their faces. Embarrassed, Barbie says that she's just dying to dance, in an effort to cover up her question, at which point normality is resumed. The next morning, she wakes up and senses that something is not quite right in her world. She can no longer complete her usual routines, discovers that she now has flat feet and she has cellulite on her thighs. 

Revealing all of this to the other Barbie's, she pays a visit to Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) - a wise but disfigured Barbie who has been outcast by the others, who advises her that she must travel to the Real World in order to cure her hardship and locate the child playing with her. Initially very hesitant to leave Barbieland behind she is told that she has no choice, and so sets off alone in her car, only to find Ken stowed away on the back seat. Reluctantly Barbie allows Ken to stay and join her . . . as long as he's brought his rollerblades along!

The pair eventually arrive at Venice Beach having travelled by bicycle, rocket ship and boat and stand out wearing their very '80's roller skating gear in neon pinks, blues and yellows attracting the undue attention of the locals who for the most part mock them. Deciding they need a change of attire, they head into a clothing store and emerge with Barbie wearing a bright pink all in one suit and Ken dressed as a cowboy, only to be chased down the street for not paying. They end up getting arrested, finger prints and mug shots taken and released. 

Their antics are eventually brought to the attention of the Mattel CEO (Will Ferrell) who immediately orders for them to be captured. Meanwhile, Barbie is able to track down her owner, a young somewhat rebellious teenager named Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) who upon their meeting at school criticises Barbie for promoting unrealistic beauty standards and calls her a fascist. Upset by this outburst, Barbie discovers that Gloria (America Ferrera), a Mattel employee and Sasha's mother, is the reason behind her inner conflicts and crisis of confidence over her personal identity. Gloria had started to play with Sasha's old Barbie toys which were to be discarded while experiencing her own identity crisis, unwittingly transferring her own issues on to Barbie. 

Barbie, winds up at the Mattel Corporate Offices in Los Angeles where the CEO and his all male corporate executives attempt to put Barbie back in the box for remanufacturing. Barbie initially keen to step back inside the box has a change of heart and makes a dash for it, resulting in the CEO and his executive team all giving chase. Barbie escapes with the help of Gloria and Sasha and together the three head to Barbieland. In the meantime Ken has been walking the streets of LA and has had his eyes opened wide to the male dominated society present at almost every turn. Realising that the patriarchal system is the way to go, he feels empowered, respected and accepted for the first time in his hitherto female lead life. 

Ken returns to Barbieland where he persuades the other Kens (Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans, John Cena and Rob Brydon amongst others) to take control, as the Barbies are indoctrinated into subordinate roles, including maids, housewives, and attentive girlfriends. Barbie arrives and tries to convince Ken and the Barbies to return to the way things were, only for her arguments to fall on deaf ears. Barbie's house is quickly converted into Ken's 'mojo dojo casa' and she falls into a state of depression and anxiety, winding up laying prone on the floor face down in Weird Barbie's house. However, Barbie has her confidence restored when Gloria gives an inspiring speech about society's conflicting expectations towards women. 

With the help of Sasha, Weird Barbie, Allan (Michael Cera), and other discontinued dolls, Gloria uses her inspirational messages on all the Barbies to bring them out of their subservient roles. The restored Barbies then coerce the Kens into arguing and fighting amongst themselves and as such are distracted from altering the constitution to enshrine male superiority, while the Barbies retake their former positions of power. In the process, they also come to the realisation of the failings of their previous ways of life, and decide to make a number of changes in Barbieland, including the better treatment for the Kens and all outcast dolls. 

Barbie and Ken apologise to each other and acknowledge their shortcomings. Ken complains that he has no identity or purpose without Barbie, to which she encourages him to find his own identity. Barbie, who remains unsure of her own purpose and identity, meets with the spirit of Mattel Co-Founder Ruth Handler (Rhea Perlman) who states that Barbie's story has no defined ending and her ever-evolving history transcends that of her more humble beginnings. Barbie decides to become human and return to the Real World, and after the Barbies, Kens, and Mattel executives all bid her goodbye and good luck, some time later, Gloria, her husband (Ryan Piers Williams), and Sasha take Barbie, now going by the name of Barbara Handler, to her first appointment to meet with her gynecologist.

'Barbie' is like a big serving of pink sugar coated fairy floss that after a while you've simply had enough of that stuff and are compelled to ditch half of it in the bin. Greta Gerwig has here crafted a film that has its tongue planted firmly in its cheek while at the same time relaying a strong message about Barbieland matriarchy, Real World patriarchy, gender equality, female empowerment and social commentary. And in Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling we have a pair of expertly cast Actors who go all in to embody the spirit of Barbie and Ken, and who look like they had a real blast bringing those characters to life on the big screen. The production values on show at Barbieland are top notch; the musical song and dance routines which are kept mercifully infrequent are well placed and well choreographed; and the performances by the principle cast are whacky and engaging. All of that said, for a film that is ostensibly a comedy much of the humour failed to land for me, with the opening sequence only raising the slightest chuckle, and this movie's Box Office success is clearly down to the power of marketing over the sum of the films parts.

'Barbie' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 20th July 2023

The 27th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival kicks off on Thursday 20th July and runs through until Wednesday 9th August. This genre film festival has been based mainly in Montreal, Canada since its founding in 1996, and focuses on niche, B-rated and low budget movies in various genres, from horror to science-fiction. By virtue of the reputation developed over the last two decades, Fantasia has been called the 'most outstanding and largest genre film festival in North America'. Its mission is to promote genre, anti-Hollywood cinema and assist independent filmmakers. Every year the programme offers master-classes and special screenings, as well as World and American Premieres, press-conferences and meetings with Actors and Directors. 

Fantasia's flagship juried section is the Cheval Noir, with the competition winners being awarded with the festival's mascot statuette, a mighty black pegasus. This section showcases a global selection of of varied genre works from new and established, groundbreaking and unconventional auteurs. There are thirteen feature films being screened within this section this year, and these are as follows :-

* 'Aporia' - from the USA and Written and Directed by Jared Moshe, this drama Sci-Fi has its World Premiere screening.

* 'The Red Rooms' - from Canada and Written and Directed by Pascal Plante, this thriller is Fantasia's Opening Night Film and sees its North American Premiere.

* 'Femme' - from the UK and Written and Directed by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, this drama, horror, thriller LGBTQIA+ film stars George Mackay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett in its North American Premiere. 

* 'Hippo' - from the USA and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Mark H. Rapaport, this drama, comedy, thriller fantasy film sees its World Premiere showcasing. 

* 'Insomniacs After School' - from Japan and Co-Written and Directed by Chihiro Ikeda, this drama family romance film has its International Premiere.

* 'Lovely, Dark and Deep' - from the USA and Written and Directed by Teresa Sutherland, this horror film stars Georgina Campbell and has its World Premiere viewing.

* 'Ms. Apocalypse' - from South Korea and Written and Directed by Lim Sun-ae, this drama film has its World Premiere.

* 'Phantom' - from South Korea and Written and Directed by Lee Hae-young, this spy action thriller film has its North American Premier showcasing.

* 'River' - from Japan and Directed by Junta Yamaguchi, this comedy Sci-Fi film sees its North American Premiere screening.

* 'Stay Online' - from Ukraine and Co-Written and Directed by Eva Strelnikova, this drama action film is the first Ukrainian feature film to have been shot since the beginning of the ongoing Russian invasion, and sees its World Premiere viewing.

* 'Tiger Stripes' - from Germany, Taiwan, France and Malaysia and Written and Directed by Amanda Nell Eu, this fantasy film has its North American Premiere. 

* 'Vincent Must Die' - from France and Directed by Stephan Castang, this thriller film sees its North American Premiere.

* 'Where the Devil Roams' - from the USA and Written, Directed and starring John Adams, Zelda Adams and Toby Poser, this horror film has its World Premier screening.

For the full synopsis of the aforementioned films, plus the films showing in the other competitive strands - including the New Flesh Competition for Best First Feature, the International Short Film Competition, the Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation and the Camera Lucida, plus the special tribute of the Cheval Noir Career Award to be presented to Nicolas Cage - the 'remarkable performer responsible for bringing life to some of the most fascinating people to grace the big screen in some of the most extraordinary films ever made'. Cage's latest film offering 'Sympathy for the Devil' is also being screened in its World Premiere viewing. The Closing Night Film is 'We Are Zombies' from Canada and France and is Written and Directed by Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell and also sees its World Premiere. Get all the details plus a whole lot more good stuff, from the official website at : https://fantasiafestival.com/fr which you can translate into English at the click of a button. 

This week then to tease you out to your local big screen Odeon on a cold mid-Winter's evening, we have three new movies coming your way, and we kick off with an epic biographical drama offering from an acclaimed Director with an all star cast that tells the story of the theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons. Next up is fantasy comedy offering from another acclaimed Director and also featuring an ensemble cast that sees a doll living in Barbieland, who’s forced to leave due to her so-called imperfections, and then embarking on an adventure in the real world; before closing out the week with a French drama film centering one man's ambition to become one of the top pastry chef's in the land. 

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'OPPENHEIMER' (Rated MA15+) - this American biographical war drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Christopher Nolan, and is based on the 2005 biography 'American Prometheus' by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Christopher Nolan's prior film making credits take in his debut with 'Following' in 1998 then 'Momento' in 2000, 'Insomnia' in 2002, 'Inception' in 2010, 'Interstellar' in 2014, 'Dunkirk' in 2017, 'Tenet' in 2020 with the 'Batman' trilogy in between time in 2005, 2008 and 2012. The film cost US$100M to produce and is released in the UK, the USA and here in Australia this week. 

This is the story of American scientist and theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and his role in the development of the atomic bomb, that ultimately would bring an end to WWII, and herald in the nuclear age. Also starring an ensemble cast that takes in Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer's wife, biologist and botanist Katherine 'Kitty' Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves Jr., Director of the Manhattan Project, and Robert Downey, Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the US Atomic Energy Commission. In addition, there is also Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Benny Safdie, Dane DeHaan, Matthew Modine, Jason Clarke, David Dastmalchian, Gary Oldman, Olivia Thirlby and Tom Conti. 

'BARBIE' (Rated PG) - is a much hyped fantasy comedy film Co-Written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach and Directed by Greta Gerwig and is based on the Barbie fashion dolls by the world's second largest toy maker, Mattel. The film is the first live-action Barbie film after many computer-animated direct-to-video and streaming TV films. Greta Gerwig's previous feature film making credits are her debut with Joe Swanberg on 'Nights and Weekends' in 2008, before her breakout 'Lady Bird' in 2017, and then 'Little Women' in 2019. Here then, Barbie (Margot Robbie, who also Co-Produces here) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) are having the time of their lives in the colourful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world on a journey of self discovery they soon learn of the joys and perils of living among humans. Also starring Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Emma Mackey and Dua Lipa as alternate versions of Barbie, and Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu and John Cena as alternate versions of Ken together with Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman and America Ferrera. The film cost US$100M to produce, saw its World Premiere screening in Los Angeles earlier this month and is released worldwide from this week. 

'SUGAR AND STARS' (Rated M) - this French drama film is Directed by Sebastien Tulard in his feature film making debut. The film centres upon Yazid (Riadh Belaiche) who for as long as her can remember, has had one big passion - that of pastry making and cooking up delicious desserts for his adoptive family. At night before drifting off to sleep he would stare longingly at the pictures of his favourite pastry chefs on the wall – propelled forward by his dream of becoming a great chef just like his heroes. Securing an apprenticeship at a prestigious Parisian restaurant, he must suddenly learn to navigate the elitist pastry world under the guidance of the chefs he so idolises. Throughout his journey, Yazid must grapple with homelessness, family issues and a lack of belonging, completely set on his goal – to compete for Paris at the International Pastry Championships. With his talent and the support of true friends, Yazid might just be one step closer to finding the secret ingredient to achieving his dreams – against all odds. This film saw its World Premiere in Epernay, France in mid-January this year, went on general release in its native France in late February, saw its Australian Premiere at the French Film Festival in early March and is now on general release here in Australia from this week. 

With three new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-