Barbie (2023)

[angora]

On 4/4/2023 at 7:19 PM, Dani said:

I loved the trailer even though it tells us next to nothing about the plot. I really hope the amazing cast actually plays a significant role and it’s not just Robbie’s Barbie on a big adventure in the real world.

Same. I really hope the trailer hasn't already shown us like 75% of the stuff with the non-Robbie-and-Gosling Barbies and Kens. I want to see this talented, eclectic cast in more than just glorified cameos.

[greekmom]

On 6/19/2022 at 12:58 AM, WendyCR72 said:

I wonder if this movie will go completely meta and use the uber-annoying, if catchy, '90s song by Aqua, "Barbie Girl"...

They should have. I know they said they wont but it's a missed opportunity.  I hope someone redoes the teaser trailer and adds the song on Youtube.

On 4/5/2023 at 8:39 PM, oliviabenson said:

I’m so not seeing it. 

Ditto.

[shantown]

Loved the teaser, loved the trailer, and already added this onto my calendar in July. I'm excited to see where they go with it! Is it going to be straight comedy? Lego Movie-style like others have mentioned? A "put the old thing in the current world" comedy like when they did the Brady Bunch movie? 

I did crack up when Gosling Ken goes "I'm actually not sure" when Barbie asks what they'd do if he stayed over. I wasn't sure about him as Ken - could he be a lovable himbo accessory? - but he's nailing it in this trailer.

[festivus]

3 hours ago, shantown said:

I did crack up when Gosling Ken goes "I'm actually not sure" when Barbie asks what they'd do if he stayed over. I wasn't sure about him as Ken - could he be a lovable himbo accessory? - but he's nailing it in this trailer.

Same. Not a Ryan Gosling fan, he's one of those where I just don't get it, but I'll give him a chance. I woulda cast Glen Powell though. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, festivus said:

Same. Not a Ryan Gosling fan, he's one of those where I just don't get it, but I'll give him a chance. I woulda cast Glen Powell though. 

Someone pointed out the similarity to Fred from the Scooby Doo movies and now I can’t unsee it. 

[Anela]

I’ll probably watch it when it streams somewhere.  Just because it’s silly.  

[greekmom]

Ask and you shall receive.

Someone retooled the trailer to include Aqua's Barbie.

 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Some of ya'll make me tired. May you live to be so ancient.
 

 

Edited April 9, 2023 by Cobalt Stargazer

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Some of ya'll make me tired. May you live to be so ancient.
 

 

This is probably an unpopular opinion but I understand that criticism* of Gosling playing Ken.

I’ve felt like he might be a miscast as the male lead opposite Robbie. Particularly when they would never cast a women with crows feet and noticeable wrinkles  (I don’t mean that as a criticism of him because he looks great) to play the lead Barbie, or any of the Barbies. I do hope that there is purpose for it that is explored in the movie but I do side eye the double standard in how women and men are allowed to age in Hollywood. 

So I guess my problem isn’t with Gosling playing Ken but with the fact that none of the Barbie’s look like his contemporary. 

*I haven’t actually seen the criticism being made so I don’t know if I am giving them more credit than they deserve.

[PurpleTentacle]

On 4/8/2023 at 4:42 PM, greekmom said:

Ask and you shall receive.

Someone retooled the trailer to include Aqua's Barbie.

 

That was amazing. They really should have done that in the official trailer. Though that might have been a bit awkward, since back when this song was released, Mattel sued Aqua over it.

On 4/9/2023 at 2:55 AM, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Some of ya'll make me tired. May you live to be so ancient.
 

 

I mean he literally is. Especially playing opposite of Margot Robbie as Barbie. They've always been roughly the same age.

If you cast a 42 year old man as Ken, cast a 42 year old woman as Barbie.

[Jaded]

I always thought the Ken dolls I had over the years looked like they could be older than Barbie. I'm willing to wait to see how he does in the role. I wasn't sure what to think when I first heard they had picked him to play Ken though.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

9 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

I mean he literally is. Especially playing opposite of Margot Robbie as Barbie. They've always been roughly the same age.

If you cast a 42 year old man as Ken, cast a 42 year old woman as Barbie.

Roughly? She's a decade younger than he is, although I guess it's good that you proved my point. I hope Gosling will be able to manage the beach scenes without breaking his hip.

FWIW, Ryan was apparently Gerwig's only choice for Ken, to the point that when he initially turned down the role she kept contacting his agency until he agreed. As someone who thought Timothee Chalamet was terrible and annoying in Little Women, I trust her vision here. Senior citizens deserve to work too.

Edited April 10, 2023 by Cobalt Stargazer

[Guest]

Barbie is supposed to be perpetually 19 and Ken a couple years older. So really both Robbie and Gosling are too old to play Barbie and Ken if the movie was being played straight. Gosling’s extra 10 years and Hollywood’s refusal to let women age normally makes it more pronounced with him. I think that is what most of the “too old to play Ken” comments are reacting to.

I think he is probably perfectly cast to play this particular Ken specifically because he is older than what is expected. I am expecting that to be a part of the plot deconstructing the problematic and impossible perfection inherent to Barbie.

I suspect that is exactly what those behind the movie wants. After comparing how he looked in Gray Man to the picture posted makes me think they are making him look older for the Barbie movie. I’m guessing that the comments and reaction to them are playing into the movies marketing perfectly. 

[Browncoat]

Will Skipper be in it?  Will the "Growing Up Skipper" be in it? 

[Trini]

2 hours ago, Dani said:

Barbie is supposed to be perpetually 19 and Ken a couple years older. So really both Robbie and Gosling are too old to play Barbie and Ken if the movie was being played straight. Gosling’s extra 10 years and Hollywood refusal to let women age normally makes it more pronounced with him. I think that is what most of the “too old to play Ken” comments are reacting to.

I think he is probably perfectly cast to play this particular Ken specifically because he is older than what is expected. I am expecting that to be a part of the plot deconstructing the problematic and impossible perfection inherent to Barbie.

I suspect that is exactly what those behind the movie wants. After comparing how he looked in Gray Man to the picture posted makes me think they are making him look older for the Barbie movie. I’m guessing that the comments and reaction to them are playing into the movies marketing perfectly. 

Or maybe we're all overthinking it? It's Hollywood. They clearly wanted someone with some comedic skills as well as abs, and who had enough star power to play against Margot Robbie. While not unimportant, looks obviously weren't the first priority. (Which explains a lot of the casting choices, actually.)

Like @shantown said above, I think Gosling is nailing the 'lovable himbo' character. Can't wait to see more of him as Barbie's accessory!

Edited April 10, 2023 by Trini

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Trini said:

Or maybe we're all overthinking it? It's Hollywood. They clearly wanted someone with some comedic skills as well as abs, and who had enough star power to play against Margot Robbie. While not unimportant, looks obviously weren't the first priority. (Which explains a lot of the casting choices, actually.)

Like @shantown said above, I think Gosling is nailing the 'lovable himbo' character. Can't wait to see more of him as Barbie's accessory!

Possibly but based on what information is out there is don’t think so.

The movie summary available is, “To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken.” The poster labels him as “just Ken”. So to me they are putting hints out there that this is going to have some social commentary involved and he’s not going to be just Barbie’s accessory in the long run. 

Although that may just be wishful thinking because of this movie doesn’t go there I have no desire to watch it. 

However the marketing campaign is confusing me some and I really hope the next trailer gives a hint of exactly what type of movie this is going to be. 

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Dani said:

Although that may just be wishful thinking because of this movie doesn’t go there I have no desire to watch it. 

Same here, but my inclination is to trust Gerwig until I know not to.

[PurpleTentacle]

11 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Roughly? She's a decade younger than he is, although I guess it's good that you proved my point.

Um yes, a decade difference isn't roughtly the same age. Roughly the same age is within 3 years, 5 if you stretch it.

I almost said "you must be ancient to consider 10 years to be roughly the same age", but even if you are 80 and your partner is 90, that is still a pretty big gap.

I don't see how your point was made there.

 

[shantown]

If the plot is interesting, which I think there's a lot of promise for, I'm not real worried about how old the actor playing any of the Barbies or Kens might be. I don't think Gosling looks so old that it's going to take me out of the realistic portrayal of Barbieland, lol. 

Another point that may be in favor of a Lego Movie style twist - Kate McKinnon's Barbie with the marker on her face and safety-scissor haircut. Implies there is some outside force that can make changes in Barbieland. From the trailer it looks like they leave for the real world at some point so it'll be interesting to see how that works.

Spoiler

Behind the scenes photos show Barbie and Ken rollerblading in the real world and they're normal human sized, so it's not a simple case of "toys in the real world" like Lego Movie or even Toy Story. Makes me interested to see how that transition between worlds will happen!

 

[Trini]

5 hours ago, shantown said:

From the trailer it looks like they leave for the real world at some point so it'll be interesting to see how that works.

 

Also looking carefully at the trailer,

Spoiler

... a few "real world" characters go to BarbieLand. But why?? Intriguing!

 

[Harvey]

Babylon had the same issue as this movie - interestingly, both star Gerwig - in that you could watch the trailer 100 times and still have no idea what the movie is actually about. We all know how it worked for Babylon, so I am curious to see how this one will do. I am expecting it to do better commercially, since it's attached to a recognizable brand and the marketing is very aggressive, but will it reach the necessary gross? We'll see.

[Trini]

*Spoilers* - although I'm guessing most of this is from the first act of the film - there are descriptions out there about footage shown at Cinemacon, which reveal a bit more of the plot: https://gizmodo.com/new-barbie-footage-cinemacon-weird-barbie-kate-mckinnon-1850375252

[Wonkabar5]

Hmmmm. Thanks so much for some more information on the movie.  I don't know. I think I'll wait for the free library copies. 

[Ohiopirate02]

5 hours ago, Trini said:

*Spoilers* - although I'm guessing most of this is from the first act of the film - there are descriptions out there about footage shown at Cinemacon, which reveal a bit more of the plot: https://gizmodo.com/new-barbie-footage-cinemacon-weird-barbie-kate-mckinnon-1850375252

This makes me even more excited to see this movie.  I am drawn to Kate McKinnon's Weird Barbie and the scene as described is just *chef's kiss*.  I am also convinced Greta just gets it and will use her understanding in inventive ways.  

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Trini said:

*Spoilers* - although I'm guessing most of this is from the first act of the film - there are descriptions out there about footage shown at Cinemacon, which reveal a bit more of the plot: https://gizmodo.com/new-barbie-footage-cinemacon-weird-barbie-kate-mckinnon-1850375252

That makes me excited for it and it is pretty much what I was expecting from a Gerwig Barbie movie. 

I just really hope the final trailer makes it clearer what type of movie this is going to be. I am mildly concerned they are setting themselves for what happened with Downsized. Where the previews made audiences think they were getting a quirky, lighthearted comedy to only be blindsided by social commentary. I don’t think it would be that big of a disaster but so far I don’t think the movie is making it clear who the target audience is. 

[shantown]

Never thought I'd have to worry about going spoiler-free for the Barbie movie, lol

If they're going to do any social commentary I hope it's more in the vein of Josie and the Pussycats (the best film of 2001) and less like Downsizing.

[Bethany]

18 hours ago, Dani said:

I don’t think it would be that big of a disaster but so far I don’t think the movie is making it clear who the target audience is. 

Based on some of the commercials I had planned to take my 7 yr old granddaughter.  Then my daughter set me straight that this is not a big screen Barbie's DreamHouse Adventures!

[Harvey]

49 minutes ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

Based on some of the commercials I had planned to take my 7 yr old granddaughter.  Then my daughter set me straight that this is not a big screen Barbie's DreamHouse Adventures!

Seems to be more of an existentialist drama. Might be boring for a 7 year old. 

[Bastet]

21 hours ago, Dani said:

Where the previews made audiences think they were getting a quirky, lighthearted comedy to only be blindsided by social commentary. I don’t think it would be that big of a disaster but so far I don’t think the movie is making it clear who the target audience is.

I figured, before I saw a trailer, this would be a satirical social commentary, simply because I couldn't imagine Greta Gerwig doing a movie about Barbie any other way.  (And, a Greta Gerwig project is one of the only ways I'd ever consider watching a film about Barbie.)  I agree the marketing hasn't matched my expectations so far.  (So I was glad to read that summary of the footage shown at the con.)

[Llywela]

On 4/27/2023 at 8:17 PM, Elizabeth Anne said:

Based on some of the commercials I had planned to take my 7 yr old granddaughter.  Then my daughter set me straight that this is not a big screen Barbie's DreamHouse Adventures!

Ditto. All the imagery and trailers I've seen so far look tailor-made for my 7yo niece. But is it suitable for that age? I can't find a reliable source for the rating. It is PG, is it 12+, or what? It would be good to at least know that much.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Llywela said:

Ditto. All the imagery and trailers I've seen so far look tailor-made for my 7yo niece. But is it suitable for that age? I can't find a reliable source for the rating. It is PG, is it 12+, or what? It would be good to at least know that much.

There doesn’t appear to be anything official yet but a few sites like this one have been saying it’s going to be PG-13. 

They really need to clarify this with the final trailer. 

[Llywela]

3 minutes ago, Dani said:

There doesn’t appear to be anything official yet but a few sites like this one have been saying it’s going to be PG-13. 

They really need to clarify this with the final trailer. 

They needed to clarify it earlier, to be honest. If it is released with an older rating, after an advertising campaign that could almost have been designed to entice little girls, there are going to be a lot of disappointed little girls out there who will feel cheated. Surely half the point of an advertising campaign is to draw in the target audience. If it isn't clear who that target audience is right up until the very last moment, the film is undermined before it even begins.

[Trini]

I would prefer that there wasn't anything in this inappropriate for children; but this seems clearly aimed at adults.  I mean, one of the first official images was Gosling and his abs; and the first teaser references Kubrick. Other than fact that it's Barbie -- which, I admit, would interest girls -- I don't think they've been directly marketing to children. There is a playful vibe, but I don't think that's equivalent to 'kid-friendly'.

I myself want this to be PG, but PG-13 wouldn't be surprising at all. Even if it was PG, it still might not really be a children's film.

[SparedTurkey]

I did not know the cast was so awesome - I only saw Margot and Gosling and thought it was just them.

But Emma Mackey (her and Margot could pass for sisters I swear so hilarious choice)

Ncuti Gatwa

Claire from Derry Girls

Helen Mirren, Issa Rae, America.....so excited now. I'll definately make an effort (more than I would have when thought it was just Margot and Gosling)

[JAYJAY1979]

Can't we just have a fun quirky movie that's tongue in cheek without over thinking it..or crying that not all the boxes are checked?

Although I think Gerwig wanted both Barbie and Ken to be older because they're no longer 'perfect' to live in Barbie land...hence the younger Ken's, etc.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I saw the trailer for this tonight when I went to see another movie.

This looks ABSOLUTELY STOOPID.

HARD PASS.

[Trini]

On 6/19/2022 at 1:15 AM, Trini said:

Too easy. I'm guessing we get a new Barbie song by [insert whichever one of the top ten female pop/rap stars who are hot right now].

 

Here we go:

 

[methodwriter85]

On 4/27/2023 at 5:47 PM, Bastet said:

I figured, before I saw a trailer, this would be a satirical social commentary, simply because I couldn't imagine Greta Gerwig doing a movie about Barbie any other way.  (And, a Greta Gerwig project is one of the only ways I'd ever consider watching a film about Barbie.)  I agree the marketing hasn't matched my expectations so far.  (So I was glad to read that summary of the footage shown at the con.)

I kind of thought they were going to go for something along the lines of Josie and the Pussycats. Satirical, but also fun for kids with knowing winks to adults.

 

Edited May 24, 2023 by methodwriter85

[Trini]

Margot Robbie and Barbie is the cover story for Vogue, summer 2023. I haven't read the whole piece, but it sounds like Gerwig really gets Barbie and who/what she is, and not what people think she is - if that makes sense. Has some interesting tidbits about the film and the making of. (I'm really curious about how what they say about the Kens play out onscreen.)

https://www.vogue.com/article/margot-robbie-barbie-summer-cover-2023-interview

 

 

[Shannon L.]

It's amusing to me the number of people I've heard saying (including both of my young adult kids) that they want to do a Barbie and Oppenheimer double feature on opening weekend. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum in regards to genres. I get being interested in both of them, but to the extent of wanting to see them both on opening day?  Amazing.

I'm still on the fence about Barbie.  I think I need to see another trailer and hear some reviews first.

[AimingforYoko]

19 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

It's amusing to me the number of people I've heard saying (including both of my young adult kids) that they want to do a Barbie and Oppenheimer double feature on opening weekend. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum in regards to genres. I get being interested in both of them, but to the extent of wanting to see them both on opening day?  Amazing.

Especially since Oppenheimer clocks in at a lean three hours. 

[Spartan Girl]

And now at last we have a plot:

“If you loved Barbie, this movie is for you. If you hate Barbie, this movie is for you.”

Way to play both sides, but it just might work!

[JAYJAY1979]

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

And now at last we have a plot:

“If you loved Barbie, this movie is for you. If you hate Barbie, this movie is for you.”

Way to play both sides, but it just might work!

So it seems as though this is being done in the same style as 'Enchanted' with the fantasy character being out and about in the real world.   Reality vs fantasy.

I'm intrigued now to see how Ms Gerwig does this concept.... but I hope it isn't a 'women good, men evil' movie that a lot of movies now are doing.

[Spartan Girl]

58 minutes ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

'm intrigued now to see how Ms Gerwig does this concept.... but I hope it isn't a 'women good, men evil' movie that a lot of movies now are doing.

Judging by how Ken is in the trailer alone, I’m pretty sure that won’t be an issue.

[Harvey]

So that is the plot they have been hiding all along? A generic chase them down and return them to their world scenario? I was hoping for something more inventive 🤕

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

And now at last we have a plot:

“If you loved Barbie, this movie is for you. If you hate Barbie, this movie is for you.”

Way to play both sides, but it just might work!

Finally. They really should have made that the first trailer. I’m still concerned the amazing supporting cast is going to be underused. I interested in where it is going but don’t love the real world aspects of the trailer. There is so much they could have done within the Barbie world. I was kinda hoping for something in the vein of Pleasantville. 

[Trini]

I love that they're having fun with the concept. Looks like Ken is going to be a scene stealer.

3 hours ago, Harvey said:

... I was hoping for something more inventive 🤕

1 hour ago, Dani said:

... There is so much they could have done within the Barbie world. I was kinda hoping for something in the vein of Pleasantville. 

I think we'll still get these. There are glimpses of them going deeper; I don't think they'd give everything away in these trailers.

 

[Trini]

https://www.barbiethealbum.com/

 

[starri]

9 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

“If you loved Barbie, this movie is for you. If you hate Barbie, this movie is for you.”

I have to admit, that made me laugh.

And honestly, I'm calling that an incredibly effective trailer.  It made me a lot more interested in seeing it.

[methodwriter85]

Oh crap, they let Ryan Gosling sing again? No!