I, along with many others, have been questioning the state of Hollywood films in 2023. With an oversaturated amount of films this summer, I was sure that movies would have a tougher time turning a profit or even reaching a billion dollars for that matter. Barbie is not only one of the best movies of 2023, but I believe it may be the hit that people are looking for that may even cross a billion dollars.

Movies based off of toy lines have been very hit or miss in the past. While they don’t always do well critically, they can still do well financially. The third and fourth entries in the Transformers franchise crossed a billion dollars. While it didn’t cross a billion, The Lego Movie did well enough at its time to spawn one sequel and multiple spinoff’s. The point here is that in order to make a movie like Barbie successful, then the right team would have to be involved, which is probably the reason why it take so long to get made in the first place. Finding the talent in Greta Gerwig was a very smart decision to make this happen.

I would not consider myself myself a big fan of Gerwig’s filmography before this. I enjoyed her previous two films, as well as her writing, and I can see why people adore her films. Even listening to her interviews, I can tell she puts so much into her writing. At the beginning of the year, I don’t think I was as excited for this as others were. I very much looked forward to the other film that was planning on coming out the same day, Oppenheimer. In an unexpected turn of events that I don’t think Warner Brothers saw coming, fans united to turn up for both films opening weekend an event dubbed: “Barbenheimer.” Through this pure excitement, I myself began to get more excited for the film. After all, it has a talented cast and looked like it would have some meaningful messages. As it turned out, the film went way beyond my own expectations.

Going into seeing this, I didn’t think much of it being a straight-up comedy. Where the film succeeds is by ensuring it has heart over its comedy. It’s certainly goofy, yet smart humor in the vein of the same type of humor I grew up on like The Office or with Apatow’s more success films. The humor gives a sense of not taking it too seriously, which helped bring me into this world. The tone is so light-hearted that it released the right amount of serotonin. Even after viewing the film, I am still yearning to see it again and listen to the soundtrack in the meantime to make up for it. The soundtrack itself understands how to utilize every song to its advantage from the opening scene to Ryan Gosling’s show-stopping musical number.

Gerwig’s direction for this film allows for there to be this fine balance between joy and humor. It even dares to go into emotional lengths between a phenomenal monologue delivered by America Ferrera and an outstanding montage towards the film’s end. The film’s messages are never forced, offering an organic take on the purpose and messages behind the Barbie toy line. Gerwig also embraces the film from an independent perspective with scenes that purposefully looking like they were done in front of a green-screen. This aspect allows the viewer to understand this world better. For a big budget film, this was refreshing to see.

In the last of what makes this film work so well is within its ensemble cast. Margot Robbie embodies the emotional element of Barbie. America Ferrera plays an almost opposite role of Robbie’s as someone yearning for nostalgia. Between these two actresses, they represent to the audience the very idea of what made the toy line so popular in first place by showing that females can be whoever they want to be. As for Gosling, what I admire about his performance is that at 42 years old, this is unlike anything he has done before. He continue to embrace changes in the characters that he plays and always accepts a new challenge. There is really no one who is bad in this ensemble cast. Everyone seems to compliment one another and understands the script so well to deliver the best possible outcome.

My only critique of the film is within a particular subplot involving some corporate men lead by Will Ferrell. I wasn’t really bothered by him at all as much as others have noted. What bothered me is that just when the plot begins to make it seem like it is going to focus on them, the plot goes in a different direction. This results in the film trying to continue to include these characters with little to no resolution. There is even one side character in this group who ends up not really doing anything in the end either. Given the subject material of the movie, I think there was a missed opportunity to wrap this up a little bit better. Maybe this won’t bother me on a rewatch as the rest of the movie is pretty much perfect. Given how perfect the rest of the movie truly is, this is one tidbit that I hoped would have done better.

Overall, Barbie is a bonified hit that deserves all of the attention that it is getting. I can actually see this movie becoming a cult classis that many will cherish. It’s the kind of movie that rarely gets made with outstanding results. It’s hilarious, emotional, and entertaining through its writing from start to finish. I won’t be surprised at all when the film begins getting nominated for awards. If (and when) it does make a billion dollars, then I only hope this will bring more life back into the movie theaters. Between this and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it seems like viewers are wanting to spend their hard-earned money on something enjoyable. I don’t blame them.

VERDICT: 4.5/5 (Amazing)