By
Such has been the case with "Barbie," a new movie directed by
Starring
All signs point to "Barbie" becoming one of the year's biggest box-office smashes, even though the
Tenderness, doses of humor and a profound critique of societally imposed gender roles merge in a film that spotlights the creative vision of Gerwig, a director who made her mark as an actress, writer and co-director of mumblecore movies, a sub-genre of independent film.
The American filmmaker later enjoyed remarkable success as the director of the coming-of-age dramas "Lady Bird" and "Little Women," both of which earned best-picture Oscar nominations.
A film with a
The previous screen adaptations were animated, starting with the 1987 television special "Barbie and the Rockers: Out of
The film is "hilarious, smart and heart-filled and deeper than one expects a Barbie movie to be," actress America Ferrera, who plays a
The film's nods to classics like "2001: A Space Odyssey" and its creative and original narrative structure (with scenes in both Barbieland and the real world) are some of the strengths of a film that aims to transmit a message of inclusion.
At the heart of the picture is a central question or debate.
Has the Barbie doll historically served to spread a can-do message through its hundreds of career iterations, from astronaut to news anchor to presidential candidate?
Or has it instead served mainly to promote unrealistic and even cruel beauty standards among young girls?
Nearly 65 years after
And in fact, even though the film is co-produced by
"It's undeniable that (Barbie) is a very dominant, iconic figure in culture and she shapes a lot of how young women and girls grow up. And to be a part of the narrative of this iconic figure, expanding and including more of us, I think is a significant and wonderful shift for Barbie," the 39-year-old Ferrera, an American actress born in
The screenplay co-written by Gerwig and her partner and frequent collaborator,
During the nearly two-hour film,
And of course, Barbieland does not disappoint.
With its fantasy houses, swimming pools and roads colored hot pink and fuchsia, it preserves the essence of the Barbie brand that for decades has captivated girls all over the world. EFE
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