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Greta Gerwig

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Barbie On The Big Screen Delivers On Being Clever And Entertaining

by Emerson Unger July 18, 2023
written by Emerson Unger

 

She’s a Barbie girl in the Barbie World. Life in plastic—its fantastic. Yes, Barbie on the big screen is finally here! Considered one of the most anticipated films of 2023, Margot Robbie steps into the iconic heels of “typical” Barbie for this one-of-a-kind film about Mattel’s legendary toy doll.

Now, bringing Barbie to the big screen has not been easy. The film has had multiple writers and directors and even at one point had Amy Schumer playing Barbie, but all of that changed when Margot Robbie was cast in the lead role in 2019. The momentum kept growing when it was announced that Oscar darling and “Ladybird” director Greta Gerwig would take on the daunting task of bringing Barbie to life with the help from her longtime partner, Noah Baumbach, co-screenwriting with her. Subsequently, the excitement for the film spiked again when Ryan Gosling signed onto the film in 2022 to play Ken. The film is also produced by British film producer David Jonathan Heyman, who brought the Harry Potter film series to life. Margot Robbie is also listed as a producer as well.

The film tells the story of “typical” Barbie, played by Robbie, who sets out on a quest for the real world after experiencing “being less than perfect” in perfect Barbie Land. Accompanying her on this journey of self-discovery is her longtime boyfriend Ken, played by Gosling. The film also stars America Ferrera as a Mattel employee who helps Barbie in the real world and Will Ferrell as the over-the-top Mattel’s CEO. Likewise, Kate McKinnon plays Weird Barbie, while Issa Rae plays President Barbie and  Simu Liu as another Ken. Rounding out the cast Rhea Perlman plays Ruth Handler, the creator of the Barbie doll.

The film is slightly in the vein of campy like other toy movies, in which an iconic toy brands breaching the big screen, such as Transformers and the Lego movies. However, this film, with Gerwig at the helm, comes out swinging right from the beginning being extremely feminist centric, but in a tongue and cheek way giving Barbie the credit for solving feminism and females’ issues in society. #JustJoking #JustNotInTheRealWorld While in Barbie Land, like Beyoncé sings, “Who runs the world? Girls!,” the real world hasn’t really embraced all that girls can be like it is in Barbie Land.

In Barbie Land we find a Barbie president, Barbie doctors, Barbie astronauts, Barbie reporters, and all the Barbie’s own their own dream homes, while Kens seem to be OK on the beach, not surfing, not as lifeguards, but just hanging out on the beach. Every day seems great until typical Barbie has an existential crisis and realizes she’s not perfect. Her shower is cold, she has bad breath, her milk is expired, and her toast is burnt, but worst of all her feet are flat and she discovers she has cellulite after falling off her roof all while obsessing over death. It’s at this time that she enlists the help from Weird Barbie, who guides her to the real world. In the real world she realizes that all the dreams that little girls had and who they wanted to be were very far from the truth. Donning her iconic rollerblades with canon toe she happens upon a construction site expecting to find hard-core female construction workers only to be mocked and cat called. She is shocked that the real world is a lot less female friendly than Barbie Land.

Upon her arrival into the real world, Mattel is alerted to the situation and acts quickly given what happened to Skipper several years prior in the Florida Keys. Mattel quickly tries to get Barbie back into the box but being a quick one she escapes into the care of a Mattel employee, who played with her as a child. With Barbie on the run, the Mattel employee and her daughter join Barbie in return to Barbie Land only to realize that Ken had returned before them and brought back a concept called patriarchy, which saw all the Barbies give up their power in order to appease their oppressors a.k.a. the Ken dolls. Barbies dream House is turned into mojo dojo casa house and is full of horses and beer drinking boys. It is at this time that Barbie hatches a plan to release her fellow dolls from their brainwashing and to take back Barbie Land. Not long after their plan is hatched, Mattel employees venture into Barbie land as well. The Barbies work together to free Barbie land from patriarchy and to return it to its previous prosperity. Upon successfully doing so Barbie is revisited by Ruth the creator of the Barbie doll. After speaking with Ruth, Barbie realizes that she wants more from this life then Barbie Land can offer and she sets out to find it.

The strength of the film comes from its clever messaging. Its tongue and cheek depiction of what we would like reality to be a.k.a. Barbie Land and what it really is– the real world, insightfully comments on humans’ innate ability to better themselves. The film is cleverly written for an open-minded audience seeking more than mere mindless entertainment but the movie is packaged in a way that is just the opposite i.e., a pure spectacle of cheerful escapism. For example, while moviegoers may be frustrated at the depiction of Ken as an over the top clingy, whiny, complaining character, who lacks depth, it is obvious when you take a step back that his character is an homage to that one-dimensional female character, seen so often in film, who lacks depth that would resemble a real human being. The cleverness of the film continues and its campy exploration of bringing fun whimsical Barbie notions into the real world, such as joking about how Mattel is led only by men even though it is a brand that is female centric. It just goes to show you how Mattel is not only willing to poke fun at itself but to be the butt of jokes. The movie also tackles troubling issues like how Barbie is designed in an unrealistic way with the perfect proportions that no woman can actually obtain. There also is a joke mid film delivered by the narrator played by the one and only Helen Mirren that jokes about Margot Robbie’s casting that is sure to get an audience to laugh. There are also other heartwarming moments like America Ferrera’s speech to the Barbies, in which she highlights the struggles of women and their inability to accept themselves in their quest for acceptance. There’re so many poignant moments in this film however it does seem that there is a bit too many messages leaving the film slightly convoluted at times. That being said the film is visually a feast for the eyes and certainly entertaining when it comes to comedy. It does what a movie should do; it entertains and inspires and that is why it’s so amazing to see Barbie on the big screen in this way.

Barbie hit theaters on July 21st, 2023 in US theaters.

July 18, 2023 0 comments
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Adam Driver (center) as Jack along with his family (including Greta Gerwig) in White Noise
EntertainmentFeaturedFilmThe Kontenders

NYFF 2022 Opening Night: White Noise

by Liam Haber October 7, 2022
written by Liam Haber

Noah Baumbach and company provide a wild re-imagining of Don DeLillo’s ‘White Noise’

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October 7, 2022 0 comments
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EntertainmentEventsFilmThe Latest

On the Scene: Noah Bambauch Talks Adapting ‘White Noise’ at NYFF Premiere

by Dano Nissen October 3, 2022
written by Dano Nissen

Noah Bambauch the mumblecore king presides over new postmodern territory. 

Don DeLillo’s “unfilmable” gold standard pomo masterpiece “White Noise” has emerged from development hell to the hands of Noah Bambauch.

At first glance, he seems an unlikely steward to bring the classic book to life after its nearly 40 year gestation. He’s known for his slice of life narratives with realistic characters speaking naturalistically. In other words, the polar opposite of the DeLillo novel. DeLillo speaks the language of the absurd and parodic. Bambauch speaks the language of New York apartment hunting and divorce lawyer contracts — real life things as they happen in real life.

But the sensibilities of DeLillo and Bambauch share some threads, woven together for a faithful adaptation. To wit, “White Noise” is fundamentally a story about a family. And Bambauch knows a thing or two about depicting a family on the big screen, having directed “Marriage Story,” “The Squid and the Whale” and “The Meyerowitz Stories.”

Bambauch spoke to the Knockturnal at the film’s North American premiere kicking off the 60th New York Film Festival.

“It is about a family,” said Bambauch. “The gap between what we say and what we mean. What we say and what we feel. What we think about ourselves and who we really are. Those are things I’ve explored in a lot of my movies.”

“Family mythologies are in a lot of my movies too,” he continued. “Parents tell their children and children have to unlearn them later. In this case you have all of that. But then you also have family as a microcosm of the culture. You have that line: ‘Family is the cradle of the world’s misinformation.’ You have Essentially the kids shouting facts and saying things we don’t know if they’re real or not. After a while you lose track wishing yourselves and you create your own facts. That’s something that is both true of a family and something we see is also true of the American culture at large.”

White Noise hits theaters Nov 25 and will be available for streaming on Netflix Dec 30. The film stars Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig and Don Cheadle who were all in attendance for the premiere.

October 3, 2022 0 comments
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EntertainmentFilmNewsThe Latest

Exclusive: Gloria Steinem & Beanie Feldstein Talk Athena Film Festival Awards Ceremony

by Jillian Fabiano March 4, 2020
written by Jillian Fabiano

The Athena Film Festival kicked off their 10th-anniversary celebrations with a bang, at the Athena Film Festival Awards Ceremony on February 26 at Barnard College. This year’s honorees included Lady Bird actress, Beanie Feldstein, film director Unjoo Moon, and Gamechanger CEO Effie T. Brown with presenters Paul Feig and Verna Myers.

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March 4, 2020 0 comments
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EntertainmentEventsFilmThe Latest

Cadillac Annual Oscar Week Bash Honors Celebrate Academy Awards in Grand Style

by ElizaBeth Taylor February 7, 2020
written by ElizaBeth Taylor

Cadillac hosted their annual beloved Oscar Week bash last night.

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February 7, 2020 0 comments
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Watson, Pugh, Ronan & Scanlen in Little Women
EntertainmentFilmThe Latest

Film Review: ‘Little Women’ Is a Feel-Good Smash

by Liam Haber December 10, 2019
written by Liam Haber

With a perfect cast and some impressive filmmaking from Greta Gerwig, “Little Women” makes a case for being one of the best films of 2019

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December 10, 2019 0 comments
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Anderson
EntertainmentFilmThe Latest

Film Review: ‘Isle of Dogs’

by Riyad Mammadyarov March 22, 2018
written by Riyad Mammadyarov

Wes Anderson returns with yet another masterfully whimsical cinematic splendor, elevating the stop-motion extravaganza found in ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ to new levels of precision and expertise.

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March 22, 2018 0 comments
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EntertainmentEventsThe Latest

A24 and Grace Hill Media Host ‘Lady Bird’ LA Screening

by Nic A December 20, 2017
written by Nic A

The only thing that can surpass Gerwig’s sublime art, is herself.

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December 20, 2017 0 comments
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EntertainmentFilmThe Latest

Film Review: ‘Lady Bird’ Astounds and Thoroughly Warms the Heart

by Adam Hobbins November 6, 2017
written by Adam Hobbins

Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut is a veritable triumph.

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November 6, 2017 0 comments
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EntertainmentFilmThe Latest

Greta Gerwig, Tracy Letts, Lois Smith Talk ‘Lady Bird’ At NYFF Premiere

by The Knockturnal October 10, 2017
written by The Knockturnal

Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut is a portrait of an artistically inclined young woman (Saoirse Ronan) trying to define herself in the shadow of her mother (Laurie Metcalf) and searching for an escape route from her hometown of Sacramento.

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October 10, 2017 0 comments
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