The reviews are in. And, despite the odd brickbat – not least from those far removed from the target market – there’s an overwhelmingly positive response for Barbie. As many critics have noted (and punned), it truly is a Barbie world.
The film, which opens on Friday July 21, is currently scoring 89% on industry-standard Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator, with most reviewers adoring director Greta Gerwig’s take in the Mattel property.
Among those praising the film were the Metro newspaper (“A summer movie so unexpected and so unpredictable that it will demand repeat viewings and future essays galore”), which gave it 4.5 out of five.
One of the highest rated was London’s Evening Standard, which as well as assigning top marks said: “Weird and wonderful, it’s one of the funnest and funniest movies ever made – and is brilliantly spearheaded by actress and producer Margot Robbie, along with writer-director Greta Gerwig.”
The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin, giving it four out of five, noted: “
Another five star review appeared in the Independent, its Clarisse Loughley Barbie is one of the most inventive, immaculately crafted and surprising mainstream films in recent memory — a testament to what can be achieved within even the deepest bowels of capitalism.”
Barbie is one of the most inventive, immaculately crafted and surprising mainstream films in recent memory
Clarisse Loughley, The Independent
UK film magazines Empire and Total Film both gave the film four out of five stars. The leading publication said: “Greta Gerwig delivers a new kind of ambitious and giddily entertaining blockbuster that boasts two definitive performances from actors already in their stride. Life after Barbie will simply never be the same again.” Its rival added: “An ambitious study of the human condition via popular product, Barbie thinks right outside of the box. Definitely worth playing with.”
Listings and entertainment site Time Out said: “This is a wonderfully fun watch that somehow manages to simultaneously celebrate and satirise the Barbie brand, its feminism and girliness pairing like gorpcore sandals with a floaty pink skirt.”
Trade magazines and sites were also fulsome in their praise, and, given their standing and target audience of the film industry, this too is a positive sign. The Wrap said: “A soulful film underneath all the persistent fuchsia. One that has heart and ambition as well as abundant beauty, inside and out.” Variety said: “Gerwig has made the kind of family film she surely wishes had been available to her when she was a girl, sneaking a message (several of them, really) inside Barbie’s hollow hourglass figure. That’s an admirable achievement.” The UK’s Screen International said: “While Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach may couch this self-discovery narrative in powder pinks and unrelenting pep, their message is authentic and acerbic: an urgent feminist call to arms wrapped up in a hugely entertaining popcorn movie.”
Websites were equally effusive, with UK-based film sites such as Flickering Myth and Digital Fix giving it near-maximum scores. The former said: “It’s a true work of imagination that will surely spark vital conversation while dazzling through its visual splendor“; the latter noted: “Life in plastic is fantastic indeed: Barbie is a sharp, hilarious and joy-contagious satire of gender roles.”
The final word goes to website The Only Critic, whose Nate Adams concluded: ““Barbie” is the movie our world needs right now.”
