Major spoilers for Barbie are ahead!
When I walked out of Barbie, I almost immediately thought: “I have to see this movie again.” I was so moved by Greta Gerwig’s third well-reviewed film and couldn’t get over the performances from Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera. However, I also knew I missed tons of details. The film is visually stunning and also has meaning and humor packed into every frame. So, when I went back to see the movie again, I put on my thinking cap, and I took note of my seven favorite sublime details.
While Barbie’s Style Starts To Mirror The Humans, Their Style Evolves To Reflect Hers
One of the major details that emerged for me during this rewatch pertains to the wardrobe. All the bright neon and fringe-tactic Barbie fashion wowed me the first time. This time around, though, I noticed how the outfits in the film actually helped visualize the internal journey the characters go on.
This is primarily seen in the titular character's transformation. As she accepts her human-ness, her outfits also start to mirror the style of the regular world. Rather than sporting super dressy ensembles, she begins wearing casual clothes. Instead of big glam, she opts for more neutral makeup. And most importantly, in lieu of wearing heels every day, she sports sensible wedges and Birkenstocks.
For the inverse of this situation, we can look at Sasha’s style. At the beginning of the movie, Ariana Greenblatt's character wears all black, and she is not accepting of the Barbie mentality (at all). However, as the movie goes on, the teen's looks start to get pinker as she starts to care for the dolls, their land and most importantly, her mom’s belief in the beloved brand.
Overall, this stylistic evolution helps reiterate the transformative journeys the film's characters go on, and I’m obsessed with it.
Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Ken Is An Underrated Comedy King
Everyone in the Barbie cast plays their part to perfection, yet the underrated comedy king of this movie is hands down Kingsley Ben-Adir. He plays the Ken who is always a half-step behind Ryan Gosling’s Ken and is constantly reacting to and trying to help his bestie.
A prime example of Ben-Adir’s comedic genius is when Margot Robbie's character finds out her dream house has been turned into a "mojo dojo casa house." As Gosling's Ken explained how patriarchy has taken over, he grabbed numerous manly items and handed them to Ben-Adir’s iteration of the doll. His hands became fuller, as he held a golf club, boxing gloves, a soccer ball, some brewsky beers amid his BFF's little monologue -- and I couldn’t stop laughing.
While he didn't have many lines, his physical comedy (like his frightened facial expressions during the Battle of the Kens) had me cackling on my second screening.
We Need To Take A Minute To Appreciate Ken’s Vocabulary
Ken’s unique vocabulary is easily one of the funniest elements of this fantasy romp. While the internet is properly obsessed with “mojo dojo casa houses,” there are lots of other silly words that Ryan Gosling’s character and this male cohorts spout out throughout the flick. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Truck-car
- Lady fashions
- President Prime Minister Man
- Kendom Land
- Long-term, long-distance, low-commitment, casual girlfriend (they never say it the same way twice)
- Fauxjo mojo mink
The silly synonyms Ken uses to over-describe his land and his possessions crack me up, and Ryan Gosling’s seriously committed delivery of his lines only made them better. Now, it’s just a matter of time before these words seep into my daily vocabulary.
Emma Mackey and Ncuti Gatwa Are Besties In Barbie Land
Greta Gerwig must have done this for the Sex Education fans. Throughout the movie, you can adorably see the characters played by Emma Mackey and Ncuti Gatwa, two principal Sex Education cast members, hanging out together. And near the end, when Gatwa’s Ken says he just wants to be friends with Barbie again, he’s referencing Mackey’s Barbie. That declaration made me smile and hope Gerwig crafted that pairing because she’s also a fan of the coming-of-age comedy.
And of course, if you’re interested in checking out the two actors' breakout roles, you can stream Sex Education with a Netflix subscription.
Weird Barbie’s Tools And Handmade Outfits Are Iconic
While Weird Barbie’s looks are obviously the way they are because a kid played with her too hard, her wardrobe and tools are also comprised of objects only children could likely imagine -- and those were brilliant creative decisions. When Margot Robbie's version of the doll went to see Kate McKinnon's weird variant for the first time, I noticed she spotted the space-time continuum crack through a cootie catcher. From there, I began to make other observations about the humorous outcast and her style.
Later, toward the end, when we see Kate McKinnon’s character in her battle outfit, she has tin foil knee and elbow pads. She also has a key ring of small doll legs at her hip and thread grenades strapped across her chest. Overall, these lovely little details reiterate the notion that the dolls of Barbie Land are impacted by the kids who are playing with them. As a whole, this style example, in particular, exemplifies the wild ways in which kids use their imaginations while playing with toys. That's an element of this movie that's very admirable.
We’re Told Who The Barbie Creator Is Before It’s Officially Revealed
When Barbie meets Ruth in her kitchen at the Mattel offices, she doesn’t know that she just interacted with the creator of the iconic dolls. While it can be inferred by the audience that that’s who she met, it’s not officially revealed until the end of the film. However, if you look closely at the table Ruth is working at, you'll see she’s cutting what looks like doll’s clothes out of pink gingham fabric.
Margot Robbie’s character is wearing a couple of pink gingham ensembles early in the movie, so this feels like a nice little nod to the greater role Rhea Perlman’s character plays at the end of Barbie.
When Allan Attacks The Construction Men, He Yells His Motto
Despite the fact that he can’t jump a fence, Michael Cera’s Allan knows how to throw a punch or two. And if the situation weren't hilarious enough, he yelled his motto before initiating the fight:
I’m Allan, Ken’s buddy, all his clothes fit me.
The first time I watched the movie, this line flew right over my head, as I was too thrown off by Allan’s action-star moment. However, during my second watch, I caught it and couldn’t stop laughing over the fact that this scene was where the writers decided to place the one-of-a-kind boy doll’s iconic motto. Michael Cera really crushed this sequence, especially when it came to his delivery of this humorous and brief line.
A Few Other Fun Little Details From Barbie
- When Aaron Dinkins is on the phone with the FBI, the split screen goes all the way up and down the screen, it’s not just in the cubicle.
- If you look out the windows of the Mattel boardroom, you can see that the skyscraper across from them is marked Warner Bros. Discovery.
- Will Ferrell and the corporate men run to the beat of “Speed Drive” during the chase.
- When the Kens take over and get new Western outfits, Allan's outfit simply gets a new "Horses" patch.
Overall, there are so many fun details to make note of in Barbie, and Greta Gerwig really seemed to pack the movie full of fun moments, easter eggs and designs that make it so that one notices something different with each viewing. With that, it may be fair to say that people may be prompted to revisit this stellar flick for some time.
If you're looking to rewatch Barbie, then you're in luck, becuase it’s currently playing in theaters along with lots of other major titles that are on the schedule of 2023 new movie releases.
