This weekend saw something I thought I would never see again. A cinema foyer packed with screens sold out. The reason behind this phenomenon is this weekend saw the release of two of the year’s biggest and most anticipated movies: Oppenheimer and Barbie, or as it has now been renamed, Barberheimer. Two completely different movies battling for an audience. There are several winners to this mini-war: the audiences and the cinema owners, who have struggled since lockdown to get people back to enjoy the movies. The first of those movies is the lighter of the two: Greta Gerwin’s Barbie, based on the hugely popular doll, and if you think this is child’s play, think again.

Barbie lives in a perfect world, in a perfect home with perfect friends (all called Barbie) and a perfect boyfriend, Ken (all the males are Ken apart from one, Allan, who was supposed to be Ken’s best friend). It is not until Barbie one day talks about death and finds her feet have become flat that she realises there is a problem. Visiting Weird Barbie, she is told the only way to stop these dark thoughts is to go into the real world and find her owner and for the two to become one. Yet entering the real world opens up Barbie’s eyes to an existence she never thought she would see and sets Ken on a journey to realign Barbieland.

Barbie is not the movie you think you are going to be. Unlike other films about well-known toys (Transformers, Lego), Barbie isn’t aimed at the audience who would be playing with the dolls now. This is a movie for everyone, although the younger viewers may struggle with the heavier existential moments of the film. This plays on the idea that Barbie was not just a doll but a role model for young ladies who lived in a time when dolls were just babies, and so girls played at being mothers. This is revealed in the telling opening sequence, a satire of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the movie’s first big joke to go over everyone’s head who isn’t old enough or knowledgeable enough about the Stanley Kubrick movie. Barbie owned her own house, could be whatever she wanted to be and didn’t need a man to get her there.

Cue all the female characters called Barbie, all with their own careers, including a female president who lives in a pink White House. Gerwin plays with the idea that Ken is the complete opposite of his female counterpart, a man with no career ambitions apart from spending time at the beach and getting jealous if Barbie doesn’t look at him. When the film shifts gear, and we enter the real world, there is a definite swapping of the sexes. A notable examination of how men and women differ in our society.

Don’t think, however, that this is a serious, deeply feminist movie. It’s a blast, too, with plenty to laugh at. Whether it be the cheesy dance sequences (The I Am Ken routine had me in hysterics), the movie references (Zack Syner’s Justice League gets the biggest kicking), to the incredible set designs and costumes. Even down to Barbie’s wardrobe being the box of the doll. Everything is in its place here, and fan or no fan, you will recognise that Gerwin and co-writer Noah Baumbach have captured the mood of the dolls and are even laughing at themselves and Mattel, the makers of the doll and the movie (including a self-referential moment which even makes mention of the film’s leading lady).

To make the film really work, you need a cast that is committed to their roles, and never has there been such a group of actors like these. From the little cameos from the likes of John Cena and Rob Bryden to the medium roles (Michael Cena is hilarious as Adam, the long-forgotten friend of Ken. Also look out for new Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa) and Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie, giving another scene-stealing performance. Yet the film belongs to Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, who shine as Barbie and Ken.

Gosling is not a man known for his comedies, although he proved himself in the massively underrated The Nice Guys. Here he goes full Ken with a performance that some already say is Oscar-worthy. He is hilarious; with his blonde locks and simple-mindedness, he is as plastic as his doll, yet his comic timing is near perfect. It’s hard to imagine anyone else giving such conviction to a role that could have been one-dimensional. This could be the start of a new career move from Gosling.

Yet, while others are saying great things about her male co-star, Robbie, who also co-produced the film, is magnificent as Barbie. She has the looks of a doll but also intelligence, humanity and grace. She sparkles throughout, and yet this is not just another blonde-bimbo caricature. She is fleshed out from beginning to end. Her comedy timing is just as good as Gosling’s, and she carries the movie with aplomb. Perfection would be an understatement for what Robbie has created.

Barbie is a blast, all brightly-pink and brimming with good-will, self-depreciation and thought-provoking ideas. It’s also one of the few films this year that left me with a spring in my step, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. There is the odd moment that the film does linger too long with the serious messaging, but that can be forgiven for a joyous celebration of womanhood and of a doll. The best toy adaptation? Absolutely. Now, I wonder if Oppenheimer will be that pink?

4 out of 5

Director: Greta Gerwin

Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera, Ariana Goldblatt, Will Ferrell, Simu Lui, Alexandra Shipp, Michael Cena, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef

Written by: Greta Gerwin and Noah Baumbach

Running Time: 114 mins

Cert: 12A

Release date: 21st July 2023