BARBIE (2023)

July 30, 2023

Greetings again from the darkness. A reasonable assumption could be made that a movie based on a doll so popular with pre-adolescent girls would be geared towards that audience. However, this is the era of comic book movies targeting “grown-ups”, and since we know, based on her previous work (the exceptional LADY BIRD, 2017), Greta Gerwig is an intelligent filmmaker, a more reasonable assumption is that she purposefully aimed the movie at women who once played with Barbie dolls and now fill their days with work, family, and adulting. This strategy has proven to be box office gold, and the heavy dose of cosplay at screenings proves the lasting impact this plastic doll has had on many women who lined up for tickets.

Ms. Gerwig co-wrote the screenplay with her real-life spouse and fellow filmmaker, Noah Baumbach (MARRIAGE STORY, 2019), and it’s fascinating to see what they have produced. Whether you find the film entertaining is another matter altogether, yet we tip our cap to the strange, visually-stimulating, and thought-provoking end result. Many will go in-depth on analyzing the gender politics and feminist approach to the story; however, I’m just here to discuss this as a movie, not a movement.

Two-time Oscar nominee Margot Robbie stuns in the opening sequence (a tribute to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY) as the original 1959 Barbie. In fact, Ms. Robbie is terrific throughout in this more-challenging-than-expected role. She’s so much more than a pretty face in high heels, as she’s previously proven in a risk-taking career featuring memorable turns in such films as THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013), SUICIDE SQUAD (2016), I, TONYA (2017), as Sharon Tate in ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019), and last year’s underappreciated BABYLON (2022). This time she portrays ‘Stereotypical’ Barbie, whose everyday is perfect in Barbieland. It’s here where we meet a diverse group of Barbies featuring Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Sharon Rooney, Dua Lipa, and others. We are also introduced to Ken (two-time Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling, terrific here), whose mood for the day is totally dependent on whether Barbie acknowledges him. An equally diverse group of Kens features Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, John Cena, Ncuti Gatwa, and others.

Barbie’s paradise is rocked one day when she begins wondering about death. A trip to “Weird Barbie” (a kooky Kate McKinnon) lets her know that the only cure for this existential crisis is a visit to the human world, where a sad girl is playing with her doll. It’s really an imaginative hook to allow the two worlds to collide. Unfortunately, only bits and pieces of the human world clicked for me (loved the rollerblading at Venice Beach). It makes sense that Barbie is shocked to discover the misogyny and patriarchy ruling the human world, but there are three other elements at play here: Ken discovering that men don’t take a backseat to women in this world, and in fact, they dominate; the corporate office of Mattel plays like a slapstick cartoon with Will Ferrell as a nonsensical CEO; and the mother-daughter duo of America Ferrera as Gloria and Ariana Greenblat as Sasha. The big twist occurs in that latter sequence, and it’s Ms. Ferrera who dishes out the gut punch soliloquy about what’s expected of women and how they are viewed. This monologue is the lesson director Gerwig wants viewers to leave with.

Barbie’s return to a much-changed Barbieland finds Ken and other Kens treating the Dreamhouse like a Frat house. See, the boys have learned how to run things their way … and at its core, that’s my main issue with the movie’s theme. Empowering women is a good thing, but why did Ms. Gerwig feel the need to make everything either a win for the women or a win for the men? I have always thought equality was the goal, not dominance. It’s this approach that gives the film a serious and dark undertone in a quite heavy-handed manner. Sure women enjoy having power. So do men. That’s no great mystery solved, and in fact makes these obvious points somehow more obvious.

Let’s talk about a few other less ominous topics. Helen Mirren delivers an admirable voiceover as the narrator, and a depressed Barbie and Ken’s affinity for horses are nice touches. Two of my favorite segments are Barbie’s first interaction in the human world … a “beautiful” woman on a park bench played by Oscar winner Ann Roth (a renowned Costume Designer who did not handle the costumes for this film), and a conversation with Barbie inventor Ruth Handler (played by Rhea Perlman), who named the doll after her daughter. While I hold firm on my belief that the film is not especially entertaining/fun, I’ll also admit the song and dance around the “I’m Just Ken” number was a hoot. Other than performances from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the star here is the Production Design from six-time Oscar nominee Sarah Greenwood. The film looks amazing, even if you might get your fill of pink by the end. Barbieland is quite a sight – it’s a shame the rest of the movie didn’t deliver this much fun, and instead pitted men against women.

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Posted by David Ferguson

ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI (2020)

January 10, 2021

 Greetings again from the darkness. Four grown men hanging out in a Miami motel room may not strike you as a promising premise for a must-see movie, but this wasn’t just a group of random buddies. Inspired by what actually happened on February 25, 1964, the film takes us behind the closed door that sheltered newly crowned heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay, pro football superstar Jim Brown, singer-songwriter-entrepreneur Sam Cooke, and activist Malcolm X, as they met to discuss their burgeoning roles as leaders in the Black community.

Each of the four main characters gets their own introductory prologue so that we have a feel for them prior to their motel rendezvous. We watch as Sam Cooke, smooth voice and all, bombs at the Copacabana Club simply because most of the rich white folks in the audience don’t want to be entertained by a black singer. In London, we are plopped into the ring of the first Cassius Clay – Henry Cooper fight, so we can witness Clay’s remarkable athleticism and showmanship … and also the rare instance of his being knocked down. We then head to St. Simons Island, Georgia, an historic spot for both the American Revolution and the Civil War. Local football hero Jim Brown is invited to iced tea on the front porch by a local rich man (Beau Bridges) and his daughter (real life daughter Emily Bridges). They fawn over his prowess as a sports figure, but after a friendly chat, state matter-of-factly why Brown is not allowed into the main house. Lastly, we pick up with Malcolm X as he disagrees with Elijah Muhammed, and the subsequent conversations with his wife about the ramifications of leaving the Nation of Islam.

These vignettes set the stage for the four men to meet in Malcolm X’s motel room after Clay’s historic defeat of Sonny Liston for the Heavyweight Championship of the World. Clay is portrayed by Eli Goree (RACE, 2016), who does a nice job of capturing the champ’s moves in the ring, as well as his charm, braggadocio, and intellect outside it. Cooke is played perfectly by Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr (Aaron Burr in both the stage and film version of HAMILTON), while Aldis Hodge (CLEMENCY, 2019) is Jim Brown and Kingley Ben-Adir (“The OA”) is a standout as Malcolm X.

Cooke and Brown are under the impression that this is going to be a wild Miami party, while Clay is in a celebratory mood, even though he knows the real reason the four men have gathered. Rather than a bash, Malcolm X has arranged an evening of “reflection” for the four men he envisions as leading the revolution of blacks against the devil known as the white man. What follows are multiple discussions – some deep, some angry, some both – about how the men view their position in society and culture. What Malcolm terms “The Struggle”, they each relate to, but have found their own personal ways of dealing. Brown wants to transition into acting as something less physically demanding, and Cooke is building his record label and buying cars to flaunt his success. Clay is young. He just turned 22 the month prior, and he is somewhat reluctantly buying into the Muslim Faith … quite the coup for Malcolm X’s plan.

The fun here is derived from the terrific interactions between four very different personalities, each with varying degrees of comprehension on their budding power. How best to utilize that power is the dilemma, and each man has their own opinions and perspectives. Cooke is on one extreme wanting to succeed in a capitalistic society, while Malcolm X is on the other extreme pushing activism and a full revolution (“blow it up”). The exchanges and conflict between these two are the highlights of the film, as Odom and Ben-Adir shine.

This is the feature film directorial debut of Oscar and Emmy winning actress Regina King, and while a screen adaptation of a stage play may be a risky first in the director’s chair, Ms. King handles the material expertly … as does the cast. Kemp Powers adapted his own stage production for the big screen, and he’s also a co-writer on the latest Pixar gem, SOUL. Supporting roles are covered by Lance Reddick (as Kareem X), Michael Imperioli (as Angelo Dundee), and Joaquina Kalukango (as Betty X). Sam Cooke was murdered later that same year. Malcolm X was assassinated by a Nation of Islam member one year later, and Cassius Clay of course changed his name to Muhammad Ali and passed away in 2016 at age 74. Jim Brown is still alive at age 84. These men each made their mark as leaders in the Black community, and even though we will never know what they talked about that night in Miami, the film digs in to personalities and leaves out the hero worship. Ms. King’s debut film will likely appeal more to history buffs and cinephiles, but it’s one that deserves attention.

Amazon Studios will release ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI… in Miami theaters December 25th, 2020, in select US theaters on January 8th, 2021 and on Prime Video January 15th, 2021

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Posted by David Ferguson