I was at the movies a couple of months ago with my daughter, when we saw the movie trailer for the Barbie movie. She said she wanted to see it, and I said I would pass. I had no interest and I assumed it was a kids movie. Not that I don't like any kids movies, because there are some that I do like. Heck, I loved the movie Coco! Anyway, I moved on and forgot about it after that day. Then last week, I saw some articles about it, with them saying it's more for adults, and I saw it was getting pretty good reviews. With that in mind, along with the fact that Ryan Gosling is in it, I decided to check it out.

My daughter and I went to see it this past weekend (the opening weekend for the movie). I went in assuming it would be okay and was a way to spend a few hours hanging out with my daughter, since she wanted to see it. Well, I was pleasantly surprised! I actually really liked the movie.

I did play with Barbie's when I was growing up, but I was never obsessed with them or a huge collector of them. Like most young girls growing up in the 70s, Barbie's and other such dolls were a part of our childhood. Since being a kid, I hadn't though much of them, until recently when I read this blog post by one of my favorite writers about letting her daughter play with Barbie's. 

The movie was funny! I laughed a lot throughout the whole movie. I also teared up a couple of times. It's a fun movie that I think most women will like. Is it a movie for kids? Not so much. They will enjoy the visual aspects, but there is a lot that they may not get. I saw quite a few younger kids in the theater that day, and as we were leaving one mom was complaining that she thought the content wasn't for children. I didn't hear any kids complaining, but perhaps they got out of it what they could, and the parents got something more out of it, which is okay, too.  

The movie seems to have sparked a little controversy among some people, because it raises the issue of patriarchy. I thought it was funny and clever and didn't have a problem with it. My daughter, who is 18, came home and told her dad that the theme of the movie is "equality." I thought that was a good take on it. She also really  liked the movie and plans to see it again this weekend with her girlfriends. The movie also made me look at Barbie in a different way and see her as more of a power symbol for females. It took the idea of Barbie being a beautiful unrealistic portrayal of females and showed that she was really representing what women could do and be, and that she offered more than little girls playing mom to baby dolls. I thought that was really interesting and I liked it.

I say two thumbs up to the Barbie movie. I think it was well done, well written, and visually great. I loved all the pink stuff! Plus, the casting was perfect. I thought everyone did a great job in the movie.

Jacqueline