LIVING DOLL (BARBIE)

© Warner Bros

And now from the ridiculous to the sublime.

After the extremely silly but hugely enjoyable thrills of 'Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One' we finally get the most talked about movie of 2023.

Ever since the first teaser trailer landed last December for Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' parodying Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey,' excitement has been bubbling about the film.

So much so that it has now reached volcanic levels, thanks to all the 'Blur versus Oasis' media coverage about it being released on the same day as Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer'.

© Warner Bros

Such has been the hype that attending a screening of 'Barbie' on its opening day was always going to be memorable.

And so it turned out to be at a packed 6pm screening of Gerwig's comedy at the Odeon in Belfast's Victoria Square.

An audience of mostly young adults donned pink t-shirts, pink blouses, pink dresses, pink skirts, pink suits - some of them wearing items branded with the Barbie logo.

They queued patiently but excitedly as the auditorium was cleaned from the previous screening, while the front of house staff stressed over the deluge of orders for soft drinks and popcorn.

© Warner Bros

With a ratio of about three to one women attending, it's tempting but a bit of an exaggeration to claim that some of the men who gathered must have felt a bit like a woman attending the stoning in 'Monty Python's The Life of Brian'.

Nevertheless there hasn't been this level of excitement around a movie since 'The Force Awakens' kicked off the last leg of the 'Star Wars' saga.

'Barbie' has become more than just a film - it's a cinematic event.

I certainly haven't witnessed such a buzz before a screening among women since 'Calendar Girls' was released.

© Warner Bros

In fact, the excitement has exceeded that and is probably more comparable to 'The Full Monty'.

Marketing students should study what has been a superb publicity campaign for Gerwig's movie from the moment the first image of the film surfaced at CinemaCon in April 2022 to the dropping on social media of its character posters revealing the cast to Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling's recent blitzkrieg of interviews and premieres around the world. 

But all of this is well and good.

The question we have all been asking is: does 'Barbie' live up to all the hype?

© Warner Bros

Yes and then some.

Gerwig's movie, co-scripted with her partner Noah Baumbach, begins with a sequence we have seen already - Helen Mirren's narrator talking about the evolution of the doll during a delicious parody of the 'Dawn of Man' sequence in '2001'.

Once we get past that, Mirren explains the parallel worlds of the real world and the world of imagination that is Barbieland.

This is a world of vibrant colours - mostly pink - where various Barbies awake from their slumber in their dream homes, pretend to shower with no running water, pretend to eat and drink with no food or milk, leap from the top floor of their open houses straight into their cars and incessantly wave at each other.

© Warner Bros

Meanwhile on the beach, the Kens gather - hoping to catch the eyes of their respective Barbies.

Barbieland is a place of relentless positivity and endless inspiration, with various incarnations of Barbie from President Barbie, Diplomat Barbie, Writer Barbie to Doctor Barbie living the dream and being whoever they want to be.

As the narrator explains the inhabitants of Barbieland are blissfully unaware that it is not the same in the real world.

However that illusion will soon come crashing down.

© Warner Bros

After years of living a model life, Margot Robbie's Stereotypical Barbie starts to malfunction.

At an awesome disco party in her home, she disturbs the other Barbies by asking them if they ever have thought about death.

The following morning she is woken up abruptly, she can't stand the temperature of her pretend shower and the breakfast she supposedly consumes is either burnt or past its expiry date.

Instead of smoothly dropping into her car, she tumbles straight from the top floor of her house onto the street, missing her vehicle.

© Warner Bros

Worst of all, she discovers to her horror at the beach that she no longer has arched feet.

Advised by the other Barbies that she is malfunctioning, she goes to see Kate McKinnon's Weird Barbie who lives in a bizarrely shaped house, has messed up hair, sports strange make-up and often does the splits.

Weird Barbie, who looks like this because she has been disfigured by the kids who play with her, tells Stereotypical Barbie there has been a tear in the time space continuum between Barbieland and the real world which is causing her to malfunction.

To repair it, she must venture into the real world and find the girl who played with her because her sad thoughts are beginning to infect her in Barbieland.

© Warner Bros

Saying goodbye to the other Barbies, Stereotypical Barbie bravely sets off in her pink car on the highway to the real world on an epic journey that will involve trekking by sea, rocket, campervan, bicycle and eventually rollerblades on Venice Beach.

However after setting off, she suddenly realises Ryan Gosling's lovelorn lifeguard Ken has sneaked into the back seat of her car so he can travel with her.

Ken talks Barbie into letting him join her on her adventure but their entry into the real world is a rude awakening for them both.

Their breaching of the real world sends executives of the Mattel toy company, headed by Will Ferrell's CEO into a panic about the consequences of one of their Barbies running amok in the real world.

© Warner Bros

Can Stereotypical Barbie find the girl who used to play with her and set things right?

How will she cope with the sudden flood of emotions she is experiencing in the human world?

Can she and Ken avoid being captured by the Mattel corporation?

What impact are their adventures in the real world having on Barbieland?

© Warner Bros

Gerwig and Baumbach have created a relentlessly funny, whip smart movie that will leave you grinning from the moment the opening credits roll right through to the end.

You'll do more than just grin, though.

There are shed loads of laughs along the way including a brilliant closing line.

And a lot of that is down to an extremely well written script and a plot which is part 'Purple Rose of Cairo,' 'Enchanted,' 'Toy Story,' 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'Elf' and part 'The Lego Movie'.

© Warner Bros

The film just bursts with imagination and zinger one liners that are delivered with real gusto by a cast who are clearly having a blast.

Like the best popular entertainment, it contains some smart messages around female empowerment without ever seeming preachy.

Its jokes certainly have jags but they are also very, very funny.

And rather predictably, some people have been unnerved by this.

On various Rupert Murdoch TV channels, Piers Morgan, Rachel Campos-Duffy and Senator Ted Cruz have railed in recent weeks against the film for being anti-men, for being a left wing, woke feminist makeover and for allegedly sucking up to China.

There's been some rather sniffy reviews too from critics who argue the film is not as clever as it thinks it is.

Some have ridiculously claimed following 'Lady Bird' and 'Little Women,' Gerwig's decision to direct a $145 million piece of popular entertainment for Warner Bros marks the death knell for indie cinema.

Please... Those people need to lighten up.

© Warner Bros

'Barbie' is a refreshing change from the usual Hollywood studio fare.

It provides welcome respite from the bloated, angsty superhero movies, gory horror films and gross out comedies that dominate our multiplexes.

It's not your usual studio movie, bringing indie sensibilities and humour to a big budget summer film.

Those looking to be threatened by a comedy that addresses male ego and the expectations society places upon women really ought to grow up.

© Warner Bros

Go and see this film.

Laugh at its sharply written script.

Think about it afterwards and have a good time because that what Gerwig's movie delivers in spades. 

In addition to some superb writing, the film benefits from Sarah Greenwood's joyous production design, Dean Clegg and Andrew Max Cahn's art direction, Katie Spencer's vibrant set decoration, Jacqueline Durran's dazzling costumes and the work of 43 strong hair and make-up artists involved in the production.

It is intelligently shot by Rodrigo Prieto and is breezily edited by Nick Houy.

© Warner Bros

The performances are also excellent.

A lot has been made of Ryan Gosling's mischievous performance as Ken, with some believing he steals the movie with several twinkles in his eye.

However Robbie delivers a lead performance that is as every bit as good and is so on the mark that it's hard to imagine anyone else playing Barbie - a fact which Mirren's narrator hilariously acknowledges at one point in the film.

There's a large dollop of Amy Adams' Giselle from 'Enchanted' in there but Robbie also invests Barbie with just the right amount of existential angst.

© Warner Bros

Like Robbie, Gosling has superb comic timing, bringing a boyband sensibility to the role of Ken and treading a wonderful line between vapidity and loneliness.

Ferrell is at his man child best as Matell's CEO, while America Ferrera and Ariana Greenblatt really impress as one of the company's employees Gloria and her surly teenage daughter, Sasha.

Other honourable mentions should include Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler who created Barbie, Simu Liu as Ken's major Ken nemesis, Issa Rae as President Barbie, Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie and Michael Cera as Allan, the only male in Barbieland who is not called Ken and is struggling to find a sense of purpose.

In truth, all the cast shines - even those big name stars in the smallest of roles or cameos like Dua Lipa, Emma Mackey, Nicola Coughlan, Kingsley Ben-Adir, John Cena, Rob Brydon, Jamie Demietriou and Emerald Fennell.

© Warner Bros

The icing on this sugary cake is the pitch perfect, bubblegum pop soundtrack by producers Mark Ronson, Kevin Weaver and Brandon Davis which features tracks by Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Sam Smith, Tame Impala and Nicky Minaj with Ice Spice and Aqua.

And wouldn't it be bliss if Gosling's hilarious boyband send-up 'Just Ken' were to secure a Best Original Song nomination at the Oscars next year?

Don't listen to the naysayers. 

'Barbie' is a movie everyone can enjoy, provided they are willing to be entertained.

© Warner Bros

So what if it is a feminist comedy?

What's wrong with that?

Is it really a terrible thing to poke fun at the patriarchy?

Should we really worry about our future because men may find themselves laughing during the film at traits they recognise in themselves? 

© Warner Bros

Of course, not.

Maybe we ought to be a bit more like Mattel who no doubt got the 'Barbie' movie they didn't quite imagine.

Their executives are able to enjoy a movie that makes jokes at their own expense, so why can't men?

So put your big boy and big girl pants on.

© Warner Bros

Being able to laugh at yourself and learn from your own flaws is a mature thing to do.

In fact, it's something we all need to do.

After all, who's the real snowflake if you are feeling threatened by an outrageously self-deprecating vision of a child's toy?

And while we're at it, take a bow, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach for writing one of the funniest Hollywood movies in decades.

('Barbie' was released in cinemas around the world on July 24, 2023)