Tis Me Michelle

We really have been living in a Barbie world lately, it’s been fantastic. Honestly, I just love that there is something bonding the girlies and how excited we all were for something ultra feminine. As women, we’re constantly walking this fine line of being girly and playing it cool. I know for me, I love dressing up and wearing ‘girly’ colors. To be honest, I love the other extreme of bumming it just as much. Truly there is no in-between. When I do dress up, I always feel like I’m doing too much. It’s honestly hard just… being. And I feel like that was the theme of the movie and it was made for us to feel seen in that regard.

Now over to the movie itself. I was engaged the whole movie, I thought it was fun and upbeat. The overall premise was interesting, and I felt like it totally targeted some of us millennials. Along with the f*** the patriarchy theme I like this idea of going through the motions and thinking you are doing the right thing and headed in the right direction to just wake up and be like… WTF?! Because that’s where I’ve been the last few years. Especially after all of us going through a freaking pandemic! It seems like we’ve totally shoved deep in our repressed memories at this point. But I totally feel like I’m constantly questioning what the hell the point of it all is so much more lately. I’m not saying we were all happy and thriving (as Barbie seemed to be), but we were totally in robot mode in this hustle culture in terms of productivity and work. And I feel like we needed the pandemic as a wake-up call to be like… WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE. Why are you grinding for ‘the man’?1

That was a bit of a rant. And listen, I know people who thoroughly enjoy their jobs, and that is the ideal scenario that I wish for everyone. But it really made me want to prioritize things that are actually important to me like the people in my life, creative endeavors, and being present in my day. So yes I totally received the f*** the patriarchy arch of the movie, but I felt like it applied here too.

I did feel like the storyline with America Ferrera’s character Gloria and her daughter could have been more of a focus. Gloria’s speech was fantastic, but I felt like she and Sasha were too much of sideline characters. It would have been nice to see a bit more of their relationship, around what was straining it and seeing them come together. Even more history of Gloria’s love for Barbie.

There is no doubt Margot Robbie is the ideal casting for Barbie. I thought she did a great job as the lead for this iconic character. Unpopular opinion – I don’t think he’s the hottest man on the planet, but his personality is the absolute best. That is all the more reason I think Ryan Gosling was perfect and works as Ken. A character who got a lot of love, but I wish had more screen time was Allan. I was a bit disappointed that he wasn’t in it as much as I thought he was going to be.

Clearly, I just wanted MORE. The movie is almost 2 hours, so it’s not like it’s a short movie. But I do feel like there were things that could have been fleshed out more. It’s not going to go down as one of my all-time favorites, but it’s a fun watch for sure! I just love the effect it had. Gave women something to get together and dress up for, I loved seeing people come in matching and in bright pink. Being a human, especially a woman, in this world is freaking hard and exhausting. So to have a movie that allows us to be shown as feminine, bright, beautiful, and brilliant is refreshing.

Stars: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️