I was wrong about Barbie

I was wrong about Barbie.

That does not mean that it's suddenly my favorite film of the year, but rewatching it gave me a new appreciation for Greta Gerwig's film.

It's still got its handful of flaws, but seeing the film a second time allows you to take in the intricacies of Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's script. You can't help but be overwhelmed by the visual feast that Barbie is.

But being able to sit back and enjoy the film opened my eyes. And it's for the better.

Why I was wrong about Barbie

I walked into the movies with my girlfriend — who was decked out in all pink (I was not, unfortunately). We had Starbucks' Pink Drinks in hand, and I was already salivating at the thought of my pink cake pop I had in tow.

This is a pretty standard Tuesday night at the movies — well, aside from the dressing in pink and sneaking Starbucks in. I had already seen Barbie, but my girlfriend hadn't (the things you do for love). It was a discount Tuesday, so what better time to rewatch it?

And when it started, I liked all of the things I remember liking. Lizzo's opening song, “Pink,” is entrancing, and I really loved the performances from both Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie. But the politics didn't work for me first time around. It seemed a bit too thin, which is understandable given the circumstances.

You're making a PG-13 film about Barbie that's supposed to appeal to the masses. The female influence is felt, but the messages seemed too simple.

I stand by that. The reason that Barbie has to go to the real world is still silly to me. Everybody hurts, as R.E.M. once said, so what makes Gloria (America Ferrera) so special?

Sure, she works for Mattel, but some days are better than others. Did she never have a bad day prior to the events of Barbie?

The patriarchy of it all

When Ken visits the real world, he discovers the patriarchy. It's like a shiny new toy for Ken, or more like a drug, and he immediately takes over BarbieLand with this rhetoric in hand. At first, I thought Gerwig and Baumbach wrote the men in the film to be stupid — teetering on the classic “girls rule, boys drool” line.

But that's not what it is at all. I mean, yes, Ken is dumb at times, but the film's about co-dependency and self-discovery. The film's billed as Barbie's self-discovery journey, but it's just as much Ken's.

Perhaps this is redundant for those who got this the first time around. I understood that at the end, Ken realized he's more than just “Barbie's boyfriend,” but all of the Kens need to discover who they really are.

It's a valuable lesson to learn, whether you think about it in terms of friend or romantic relationships.

Now rooting for Barbie

As suggested earlier, I think Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach had their hands somewhat tied behind their backs. To be clear, I originally gave the film a grade of a B, so it's not that I hated it.

But Gerwig has slowly risen to blockbuster-scale filmmaking from her Lady Bird beginnings. She does a wonderful job directing, but limitations in the scripts show in films like Barbie. Is it quite as strong of a message as she wanted? I can't imagine so. But when you're attempting to appeal to masses as Barbie is — and it worked, as the film made over $1.4 billion — you have to accept the limitations of big studio filmmaking.

I'm now rooting for Barbie. If it wins Best Picture, I wouldn't complain. The Oscars are in desperate need of getting mainstream nominees in there — and that's coming from someone whose favorite film of the year is Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and favorite film of last year was Aftersun.

When it comes blockbusters, Barbie has it all. Great below-the-line work from its cinematography to its editing; fantastic performances; and a very tight script that touches on more serious matters than a Barbie movie would suggest.

A sequel will happen, but that's really a shame. How do you top Barbie? It's creative and I'd argue this was a case of the perfect storm. Mainstream audiences were so interested in seeing a Barbie movie, and its hype as astronomical. I suppose we just have to trust that Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, and Margot Robbie can go back to the lab and attempt to top this.

Barbie is on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, and digital platforms now.