I probably would not have bothered  to see this movie if not asked by a male friend if he could ‘accompany’ me, so that he would not present weirdly, as a single male at the cinema going to see this film.  In the end, I went with another male friend who also wanted to see the film, but –  same story.

I really had no expectations.  Yes I had Barbies as a child, but I did not use them to explore or assign my female role in the world of things.  I was a dressmaker way early, and to me they were only ever ‘fashion dolls’ as in ages past, where clothing was previewed in miniature.   I never used them vicariously to explore motherhood or world-wise career.   Bottom line, I was only interested in the clothes!

So, what a delightful eye opener it was when I parked in the cinema and actually asked myself, “What are my expectations here?”

I had not even thought about a ‘story’, but there is one, and lots of interesting existential questions along the way!

As I watched my male companion’s reactions, I realised that it was totally out of his context, and that’s fine, as I moved back to engage with my own experience and preconceptions.

What’s the plot?  In a nutshell, Stereotypical Barbie (who totally acknowledges her role) experiences the symptoms of an existential crisis when her feet fall flat, she has thoughts of death, and the critical scale-tipper, the beginning signs of  (oh no! fate worse than death!) cellulitis.  To diagnose and hopefully, heal the problem, she visits Weird Barbie, the doll who has been ‘overplayed’ with, and rests permanently in the splits, with her damaged hair, and biro marked face (the result of being overplayed with by a vicious child).

According to the diagnostician, Weird Barbie, the only way to heal the rift between Barbieland and Reality demonstrated by these symptoms, is for Stereotypical Barbie to journey to Reality, find the child who played with her and who is now exhibiting the symptoms which are penetrating the membrane separating the two worlds.

There are many memorable moments in this film, but the very first I have to mention and push forward is the soliliquoy by Gloria (i.e. actress America Ferrera, the now grown child who played with Barbie) about the ‘impossiblility of being a woman’.  I invite you to read it here:

“It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.

“You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money because that’s crass. You have to be a boss, but you can’t be mean. You have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas. You’re supposed to love being a mother, but don’t talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men’s bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you’re accused of complaining. You’re supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you’re supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.  

“But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.  

“I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don’t even know.”

This film has plumbed the dollar depths way early in its realease, nice, well done – but none of the reviews I have read have truly plumbed its meaningful depths, largely I believe due to the age of its reviewers.  Not their fault I know, but as soon as I settled into my cinema seat and heard the voice of the narrator, I knew that I was in the prescence of ‘depth’ and not just dollars.