Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are Barbie and Ken for Greta Gerwig, in one of the cinematic phenomena of the year.
It must not be easy to keep up with a world where everything is perfect. Now, ‘perfect’ does a lot of heavy lifting, here. In this reality, everything is hot pink, politics don’t exist, and all you need to think of is organizing your life around partying, sunbathing, rollerblading, cruising in your pink convertible, showing off your labels… this is the world of Barbie, the most famous doll in the world and the icon of girlhood for over seventy years. A pop culture phenomenon that stayed relevant always, thanks to regular updates in wardrobe and accessories, so many they could fill an encyclopaedia. It was only a matter of time before Barbie was promoted to movie star, though certainly one couldn’t expect such a stellar cast: Margot Robbie will star as Barbie, while the (thankless?) role of Ken went to Ryan Gosling. The film has been directed by Greta Gerwig, whose Lady Bird of 2017 earned her a Golden Globe and two Oscar nominations (Best Screenplay, Best Director). The story sees Barbie peacefully lounging at a very, very choreographed, interminable pool party. At one point, she raises her voice and asks: “Do you guys ever think about dying?” giving way to existential drama in a world that never experienced any—nor would ever want to.
From there, our favourite blonde will embark on a journey to self-discovery accompanied by Ken, an immeasurably vain man whose character can only be saved by Ryan Gosling’s acting skill. His character drew criticism, too, in a sort of reversed gender equality controversy. In Gosling’s words: “It is funny, this kind of clutching-your-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken. Like you ever thought about Ken before this? No, you didn’t. You never did. You never cared. I care about this dude now. I’m like his representative.” The very trailer of the film shows Barbie’s pink world turned upside down as characters themselves glitch: first, she tumbles down from her mansion’s upper floor, instead of the usual magical floating right into her car seat; then, her shower water turns unexpectedly cold; her feet, used to high heels, turn flat. A ‘rogue’ Barbie, played by Kate McKinnon, ironically offers Margot Robbie’s character a pair of Birkenstocks. She is puzzled, but her curiosity to find out just about how common people live will have the best of her. From that moment, nothing will ever be the same.
