In a piece of casting on par with Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier and Jack Nicholson as The Joker, Margot Robbie is Barbie, a match of performer and role so perfect you just kind of go “Oh yeah, of course.” And Barbie is hitting New Zealand cinemas on July 20 in all its pink and pastel glory.
Barbie is, of course, based on the ubiquitous fashion doll manufactured by Mattel and beloved by children around the world. Created by Ruth Handler in 1959 (and sorta based on a cartoon prostitute) Barbara Millicent Roberts, to give her full name, is a fashion-forward figure of fun who steered girls’ toys away from baby dolls and domesticity and is now one of the most recognisable toy brands in the world, spawning countless items of merchandise and a multimedia morass of spin-offs.
Which now includes a live action movie! What do we know about it? Not much, but it did get a heck of a teaser trailer…
So, Margot is Barbie, Ryan Gosling is Ken (bit iffy on that casting choice, but we’ll allow it) and the only plot details we have are “After being expelled from Barbieland for being a less than perfect-looking doll, Barbie sets off for the human world to find true happiness.” That’s your lot.
But we do know that this thing is being directed by Greta Gerwig, whose take on Little Women was absolutely fantastic, and co-written by her and her husband, Noah Baumbach (check out White Noise on Netflix for their most recent collaboration). And we know that Will Ferrell is turning up as the president of Mattel, so we’re getting heavy post modern metatextual vibes from this thing, ala The LEGO Movie (which also featured Ferrell, you may recall).
In the pantheon of toy-based movies (G.I. Joe, Battleship, Garbage Pail Kids, et al) can Barbie come out on top? You know, looking at that list, the odds look pretty good…
