Credit: Barbie (2023)
Who’s ready for some Barbie news?
Well, the upcoming Margot Robbie film has received some hype due to the stellar cast that’s attached. Oscar nominees Ryan Gosling (Blade Runner 2049, The Gray Man) and Robbie (The Suicide Squad, The Wolf of Wall Street) are confirmed as Ken and Barbie. Will Ferrell (Anchorman, The Other Guys), Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Superbad), Issa Rae (Insecure, The Hate U Give), Kate McKinnon (Ghostbusters, Bombshell), Rhea Perlman (Cheers, Sing), Alexandra Shipp (tick, tick…BOOM!, X-Men: Dark Phoenix), America Ferrera (Ugly Betty, End of Watch), and Simu Li (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Kim’s Convenience) have supporting roles in the upcoming film.
The film follows Barbie (obviously) in her perfect little world known as Barbieland, until she’s pushed out due to her so-called imperfections – prompting the popular figure to go on an adventure in the real world and discover that perfection can only be found within. Greta Gerwig (Little Women, Lady Bird) will direct the upcoming feature, and Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story, The Squid, and the Whale) will help pen the script with the Oscar nominee. It actually remains a mystery how the film will turn out. Could it be a live-action feature that’s geared toward adults? It would be generally shocking if that was the case, though the talent attached is most known for their mature stories. Or will it be a bubble gum movie that aims to target kids and teenagers? The first teaser for the Barbie trailer seemed to point towards the latter, though not much is shown to get a strong sense of the overall style of the upcoming film.
Credit: Barbie (2023)
Barbie is geared towards girls, so the pop setting and dancing aren’t much of a surprise, though, given the incredible depth of talent behind the scenes, it would be surprising if the film didn’t have a deeper soul than what’s being presented. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter back in November, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker explained the difficult process and why she feels that this could be a “career-ender”:
“It felt like vertigo, starting to write it, like: “Where do you even begin, and what would be the story?'” she said. “And I think it was that feeling I had was knowing that it would be really interesting terror. Usually, that’s where the best stuff is, where you’re like, ‘I am terrified of that.’ Anything where you’re like, ‘This could be a career-ender’ – then you’re like, ‘I should probably do it.” Unless Barbie is Birdemic or The Room bad and flops at the level of John Carter, it’s unlikely that the film will end the filmmaker’s career, though I understand the point Gerwig is making overall. Most fans see this as nothing more than a cash grab; How do you make a compelling story based on an iconic property of a plastic doll?
Credit: Barbie (2023)
That’s ultimately what makes Barbie an intriguing movie. There are plenty of directions to go with this story, and though the trailer indicates light and breezy, the studio didn’t hire one of the best filmmakers and writers on the market to simply make a mindless feature in order to sell tickets. This will likely skew between teenagers and young adults, though we’ll surely get a better clue when the official rating is dropped, and the full trailer is released. Barbie is set to come out on July 21, 2023. Summer is always a busy time for movies, though Barbie will be running opposite Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. The Oscar-nominated just dropped an amazing trailer for his upcoming film and based on what’s shown so far. This could easily be another Oscar contender for Nolan. We’ll keep you updated on everything regarding Barbie.
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