The Corner

Film & TV

Against Barbie Revisionism 

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie during a photocall for the upcoming Warner Bros. film Barbie in Los Angeles, Calif., June 25, 2023. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

I saw Barbie over the weekend. I respect the Jack Butler and Luther Abel takes, but it seemed like a straight-up feminist screed to me. Yes, by the end it is acknowledged that the Kens should not be totally subordinate in the Barbie world, but that’s not a huge concession. On the positive side of the ledger, despite the inclusion of a trans actor, you couldn’t get a more intense, thorough-going depiction of the gender binary. Also, as Jack notes, Ryan Gosling was great. There were some genuinely funny scenes, usually involving Gosling, but overall? Tiresome. One and half stars.

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