Barbie (2023)

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121070688#Comment_121070688

"I thought it basically showed that you can build a society based on one random characteristic like sex or on things like nepotism" what does that mean? Barbie world only works because nothing needs to made or maintained? if you wanted to live in a simulation you could make any rules you want I guess.

You can look at the movie as being a satire of feminism , where ken just wants to bring equality to Barbie world...I might need to duck and cover now lol

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121075009#Comment_121075009

Ken doesn't want to bring equality though, he wants to take over. That's not what feminism is. When it gets to that part of the film they're spearing incel man babies. He's only doing it because Barbie won't be his girlfriend.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121075009#Comment_121075009

I think you're taking it a bit literally. But to follow your argument, if nothing needs to he built or maintained, then why was only one class of people in positions of authority and why were both classes of people boxed into predetermined roles?

You can look at it as satire of feminism if you want. I'd say it's more a satire on how we can construct our societies based on predetermined classes or on other factors like merit, for example

Taking it really literally probably isn't a terribly sensible way to look at it though. Real life is messy.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121075057#Comment_121075057

That's not what feminism is.

I know this, you know this, but that hasn't stopped the latter-day narrative from some that feminism is trying to create a matriarchy. As the saying goes, equality can feel like oppression to those formally at the top.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121075515#Comment_121075515

And that's the point of satire. To take ideas to absurd lengths which helps put real life into perspective. The Barbies had an unrealistic level of control and then the Kens had an unrealistic level of control. And in the end they begin the process of opening things up to Kens to begin gaining some self determination and some positions of influence in the society.

witchtower

Gosling and Robbie are excellent but I was praying for a trapdoor to open and take my chances with crocodiles after 20 minutes..... I probably work on too few levels to get the meanings and subtexts but jeez louise the agony.....

2smiggy

it's ok, I have seen a lot worse recently. But I would not sit through it again. Meh

feelings

We turned it off. What a load of rubbish!! Hats off to the marketing department but jaysus the film was terrible.

p to the e

This will be a case study in "moorkeshing" classes the world over. How they convinced people to shell over €1.5billion for a mediocre, box ticking exercise.

I'm a self confessed cynic and the last time my eyes rolled into the back of my head this hard, at the "can't we all just get along" narrative, was Sex Education, and funnily enough one of the actresses in that is in this. The moody teenager, the attempt to hide it's a 1.5 hour Mattel commercial, Ryan Gosling trying to act, that Barbie with the Adam's apple. Not once did I laugh. This film was not for me.

Fysh

I can totally understand it not being your cup of tea and not enjoying it, but equally it's a bit silly to suggest a film made this much money by tricking people into thinking they liked it.

Seems more likely to me that it landed differently for other people who were more receptive to what it had to offer. Which, yes, was absolutely as deep as a puddle - but that doesn't have to mean pointless. I still think the 2001 gag the film opens with is great, for example.

p to the e

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121229502#Comment_121229502

I wouldn't say people were tricked into liking it, more that they were convinced to go see it. I'm thinking more of the whole "Barbenheimer" marketing ploy that came across as having naturally occurred when it was more likely to have been planned out months in advance.

Fysh

they were convinced to go see it

I mean, yes, I think people were convinced to go see it - but I think that was word of mouth, not marketing. Look at how much marketing got thrown at The Flash and yet that didn't break $300M worldwide, much less stick around for months on end.

I've no idea whether Barbenheimer was a marketing ploy, but it seems unlikely that anyone involved in making either film came up with it - Barbie was distributed by Warner, while Oppenheimer is Nolan's first film not distributed by Warner (and from what I remember reading it wasn't exactly an amicable split...). There's no overlap in production companies between the two films either. You could maybe argue about the two films having the same release date but tbh it's a big gamble that you can make a big screen Toy Adaptation Film pair naturally with a Nolan Epic Biopic film, particularly without any common business involved behind the scenes to make it work.

If anything the Barbenheimer thing was IMO much more on the part of cinemas and trades pointing out that there were two very different big budget films with a-list casts and creative teams releasing in the same week.

pixelburp

I don't think Barbenheimer was a plot, not at all. Some things just appear on the internet and the coincidence of two major, creator-driven projects opening on the same weekend was a fun wheeze to explore.

And at the end of the day: doesn't every movie try to convince you to watch it? Of course people were convinced to see Barbie, and maybe most were thusly convinced 'cos they just liked what they saw.

El_Duderino 09

Yeah from what I heard the cinemas just made lemonade with 2 big releases on the same day.

Given the gender wars stuff going on over the last while, it was ripe for a gender wars parody movie. It might not go down as a timeless classic, but it was on the nose for the moment.

It's not surprising that the Boards reviews wmare mostly scathing. The boards demographic is probably skewed toward the older, crankier, anti feminism side. That's fine as that's the market boards serves more than more modern social media platforms.

appledrop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121074603#Comment_121074603

Finally got to see it today and agree, what a load of crap and I say that as 3 females who watched it.

So glad I didn't drag my husband along, he would have cracked up all together!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121312939#Comment_121312939

You're 3 females?

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121313208#Comment_121313208

Lucky husband. A foursome every night of the week.

ancapailldorcha

Cat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-Z7CczgXgI

JP Liz V1

I’m Just Ken wins the Critics Choice Award for Best Original Song

JP Liz V1

8 nominations Oscars but Greta and Margot snubbed for director and actress

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I loved Margot's performance in Barbie but snubbed is a pretty big word to be throwing around. The best actress category is pretty stacked this year and there are other people who missed out who should be there over Margot Robbie.

I do think America Fererra getting a nomination is f**king ridiculous, pardon my French. Bar that one monologue about how hard it is to be a woman, she did very little for the whole film, and if she hadn't been nominated I don't think Margot Robbie not being nominated would have felt like as big a deal.

Man Vs ManUre

Margot Robbie is pretty much a real life Barbie doll so I suppose it’s not surprising she is not awarded for it. If she managed to play Bambi (the elephant) tho and pulled it off, now that would be Oscar worthy.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672099#Comment_121672099

Playing Bambi as an elephant would certainly be a bold choice.

JP Liz V1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121662099#Comment_121662099

I think Margot had picked up nominations in most all other awards so I suppose she seemed a shoe in for an Oscar nomination but there is always surprises, she literally brought Barbie to life and it was a very good performance

jj880

Gosling is an amazing actor. This oscar nomination is laughable though. Like a practical joke gone too far. Whats his speech gona be if he wins. I hope he does win 🤣.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I think Gosling's nomination is deserved. Comedy should be recognised more at these things. He won't win, but I don't have a problem with him being in the mix. Pretty sure RDJ has been the favourite all along, so why not shake up the other nominations.

JP Liz V1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120838224#Comment_120838224

I am excited