Comedy doesn’t always have the easiest time being taken seriously come Oscar season. Movies based on established toy brands don’t, either. But, based on reaction to Sunday night’s huge world premiere at the Shrine in downtown Los Angeles, as well as my own feelings watching it with the packed crowd of first-nighters, Barbie just may have the stuff to not only become a smash box office hit this summer (I would now guarantee it), but also a surprising genuine awards contender for Warner Bros and Mattel (I can’t believe I just wrote that sentence).
The formal review embargo is set for July 18 following critics screenings (Deadline’s Valerie Complex will be reviewing), but the social media embargo lifted at the conclusion of last night’s screening and initial reactions are rampant. For my money this is a razor-sharp, hilarious and totally fun movie that more than lives up to my hopes based on the fact the script comes from Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig, the latter also the director. It delivers on every front, but gets gravitas from its sly satirical commentary on society’s ever-changing and challenging place of men vs. women. A feminist manifesto? Not quite. It has more complexity than you might think, and nothing is held back. Props also have to go to Mattel for letting these supremely talented filmmakers go wild with the beloved brand, even in unflattering ways.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling
Christopher Polk
“What a smart movie this was, so fun but with so much to say, too,” one filmgoer told me as she exited the Shrine last night to head to the after-party. That person happened to be Janet Yang, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and her effusive reaction (just one of many similar I heard afterwards) led me to think, despite its genre and July release, that Barbie could have some real potential come Oscar time, even as Warners tees up other more obvious hopefuls in the fall like Dune Part Two and the film adaptation of the Broadway musical version of The Color Purple.
Comedy, or actually more broad comedy like Barbie, usually gets treated like a second-class citizen at the Academy Awards with some exceptions — like Tootsie, which made it into the Best Picture race; Tom Jones, which won; Some Like It Hot, which got a few nominations; more recently Adam McKay films like Don’t Look Up; and movies like The Producers, Pillow Talk, Moonstruck and others over the years that took home screenplay Oscars in their time. Broad comedy master Mel Brooks is getting an honorary Oscar in November, so that’s high acknowledgement of the genre. Even this year the Academy showed by anointing Everything Everywhere All at Once with its highest honor that it is willing to look more out of the box, something Barbie would be literally and figuratively.
‘Barbie’
Warner Bros
Because this is a movie that sneaks up on you and has more of an acidly witty Billy Wilder sensibility to it, I could see it playing surprisingly well with the Academy. It is as relevant as it is LOL funny. For starters in crafts categories like Sarah Greenwood’s bright Production Design, Jacqueline Durran’s Costume Design, and Rodrigo Prieto’s candy technicolored cinematography, it could be a real player. Original songs like Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” and the rollicking Ryan Gosling-led production number “I’m Just Ken” could compete for Best Song. Both Gosling and title star Margot Robbie deserve consideration in the lead categories for pitch perfect performances that also have a real shot to gain momentum at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. Gosling in particular is real scene stealer. Baumbach and Gerwig’s script could have a lot of support for Original Screenplay. Whether Barbie gets into Picture and Director races remains to be seen, but if the movie becomes a bit of a phenomenon following its opening than don’t count it out.
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On another front, despite their widely divergent differences, the social media-tagged “Barbenheimer” connection with Christopher Nolan’s A-Bomb drama Oppenheimer, a film that on the surface at least would appear to be genuine Oscar-bait material, might also help it in a weird way. Exhibition reports significant numbers of moviegoers are even planning to the see the dueling July 21 openers on the same day. Go figure.
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The year 2023 has really turned out to be the year of the product biopic, and the good news is so far each one of them are really good. Ben Affleck’s Nike Air Jordan tale, Air, grossed over $50 million in theaters. The superb smartphone origin story BlackBerry was critically acclaimed, as was the backstory of a video game in Tetris that played like a nail-biting spy thriller on Apple. Eva Longoria’s lively and heartfelt tale of the emergence of spicy Cheetos, Flamin’ Hot, has been a hit on both Disney+ and Hulu since debuting in June. Now we have Barbie ready to take the trend to new levels. Opening in limited theatrical the same day, and then streaming on Apple starting July 28, is another brand marketing saga, The Beanie Bubble with Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks, which chronicles the rapid rise of Ty’s Beanie Babies phenomenon.
For me it is just heartening to see comedy in a position to really spark a comeback, especially after Jennifer Lawrence’s terrific No Hard Feelings continues to play well and draw solid word of mouth this summer, albeit on a smaller scale. It will be fascinating to see just how far Barbie can take that baton and run with it. At the very least there are some much-needed laughs to be had.