Early reactions to Barbie are—as expected—completely glowing
The Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling-led film seems to be more than living up to the hype
Time to throw a giant blowout party with all of your friends, planned choreography, and a bespoke song because Barbie has officially premiered, and early reactions are—you guessed it—everything. They’re glowing. Swooning. As excited as Barbie herself, even. It sounds like we might have to get ready for a very, very pink Oscars ceremony next March.
Early reviews called the film “bombastic” and “a triumph” and praised the “craftsmanship” of the costume and set design as well as the “nuanced commentary” of the script that displays the “highs and lows of the existentialism of Barbie and Ken’s lives.”
(Side note: had any of us paused to consider what would have happened if Barbie was… bad? Society may have descended into chaos beyond our wildest nightmares. Tom Cruise’s hard work to save movie theaters would have gone down the tubes. July 21 could have looked a little something like the other major premiere going down that day. Shudder. Luckily, it sounds like we never have to live in that dark timeline. Thank goodness.)
Praise also poured in for Ryan Gosling specifically, who is apparently so much more than “just” Ken. We can’t say we’re surprised; he’s clearly been working on his Ken-ergy since that iconic middle school dance class.
Some reactions were slightly more nuanced. Collider’s Perri Nemiroff praised the film’s visuals, but lamented the story slightly, writing that there are “other characters experiencing important arcs that needed more screen time to really dig into and explore to the fullest.” PayOrWait’s Sharronda Williams also called the screenplay “bloated at times” and felt that it occasionally veered into “too on the nose social commentary of society that takes away from important subplots & character development.”
Beyond the celebration, though, the overwhelming takeaway seems to be “how” with Nemiroff asking “HOW does this movie exist” and The New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan confining his thoughts to a simple “I can’t believe Greta Gerwig got away with it! (said admiringly).” What exactly did she get away with? We can hardly wait until July 21 to find out.