The “Barbenheimer” phenomenon took over the globe this weekend. Movie theaters were packed. As one of the excited moviegoers – my reviews.
What exactly is “Barbenheimer”? It’s a portmanteau of the films, Barbie and Oppenheimer. With identical release dates but polar opposite themes – social media users took notice. Doubtful that Universal and Warner Bros., the two competing studios behind the films, could be anything less than over the moon. It’s unlikely that either could have foreseen free marketing like this. Barbenheimer already has its own Wikipedia listing.
I split the films over two days. Were they more hype than substance? Here are my reviews.
In alphabetical order (Warning: reviews may contain spoilers)
Barbie | Directed by Greta Gerwig
After seeing the trailer and the fashions attached to the Barbie premieres, and with Gerwig at the helm, I was so excited to see this movie – huge Barbie fan as a kid. Echoing the big, opening scene (an homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey, with Helen Mirren narrating), I disliked those creepy baby dolls, favoring this teenage doll with fabulous wardrobe options and a midcentury modern, cardboard Dream House. Doll Ken, like the movie Ken, was insignificant. Barbie was better matched with GI Joe anyway.
I got half the satisfaction – the film starts strong, then stalls for the most part. It was kind of like being on a roller coaster. Inching up that first, and usually highest hill, in anticipation of the thrilling drop. Drop never came,
We begin at Barbie’s nightly party in Barbieland attended by all the other Barbies, Kens and one Alan (a wasted Michael Cera). In this hot pink, frothy-and-funny, energetic world, Barbies rule. Among them are the president, a Nobel Prize winner and all the Supreme Court judges. But suddenly Margot Robbie’s Barbie begins to have an existential crisis – is Barbie having a feeling? Only when Barbie has to leave Barbieland for the Real World, LA specifically, in search of a solution does she realize that patriarchy is the name of the game on the outside. Meanwhile, stowaway Ken (Ryan Gosling) is thrilled with this flip.
Gerwig and Noah Baumbach co-wrote the screenplay and it feels unsure of which direction they wanted to commit to film. Was it a parody of Barbie or was Barbie supposed to be a feminist icon? Seemingly the latter, but the script vacillates midway. Ken was always a sidekick – the name after the ampersand. Why does the story branch off to him, back in Barbieland sans Barbie? Or why was Ken cast as equal billing? It's only ever been about Barbie. The "He's just Ken" teaser line in the poster makes sense for the brand, but not for the film.
Over in the Real World, the film gets leaden and stiff. And a lot preachy too. Gerwig's subversive feminist take on Barbie sputters in the second half with ridiculous subplots and an unfunny Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel, with an all male board literally trying to put Barbie back in the box. We get it, but literally, it’s hammer time.
On the cast, Robbie is a perfect Barbie – charming, bringing the right tone to the character in each world. Gosling inhabits Ken more three-dimensionally, with vulnerability for a doll who has always been a lesser character. And surprise, he's got some good dance moves. The supporting cast works nicely, though most don’t have much to do. Rhea Perlman is good in the few scenes as Barbie’s creator, Ruth Handler.
The production design, costumes, hair and makeup are extraordinary. Music by Mark Ronson is a great addition for energy and fun. A production of Mattel Films – it looks as though Mattel is setting up its first film as a franchise.
There’s a fun, smart movie in there somewhere. Perhaps trapped between Barbieland and the Real World.
Score: B-
Oppenheimer | Directed by Christopher Nolan
Going into Oppenheimer knowing only the basics about the man and the history, and not knowing anything about physics or chemistry of any kind, I was in a bit of trouble from the jump. I did not read the book, “American Prometheus,” on which the film is based, and I had not yet seen the 1980 documentary, The Day After Trinity.
At its front, the film is divided into two chapters. 1. Fission and 2. Fusion. I could only guess what each word meant as it related to the unfolding story. The viewer is immediately thrust into the film which toggles three chapters of Oppenheimer’s life: As lead physicist for the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos; his hearing by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) during the McCarthy era; and the lead up to, and congressional appointment hearings of Oppenheimer’s chief nemesis, former AEC Chair Lewis Strauss. These events triggered so many huge questions: the morality of war, the intersection of science and politics, the limits and excesses of power – my mind was on overdrive.
Before I dissect Oppenheimer, I found it to be an incredibly ambitious piece of filmmaking that succeeds more often than not. Innovative IMAX techniques and stunning cinematography set the stage for a superb performance by Cillian Murphy. The rest of the cast is fantastic overall from Robert Downey Jr. (Strauss), Matt Damon (Groves) and Emily Blunt (wife Kitty, although underused. In general, the women were written as one-dimensional, yet most were highly educated scientists themselves.). to an international host of character actors. All inhabit their characters and this world fully, even though some appear briefly. The excellent score by Ludwig Göransson becomes a subliminal character throughout, slowly building tension and atmosphere without overpowering the actors.
In this three-hour long telling of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life, and as father of the atomic bomb, Nolan’s timeline is (unsurprisingly) nonlinear. The multiple stories crosscut at different years – telling Oppenheimer’s past, present and future – employing different film grading and coloring. There are many characters, and information is coming at you quickly. The scenes tend to be short, particularly in the first half of the film, where I was desperately trying to imprint these characters and figure out where they fit in. I felt, as did a few people I spoke with post screening, that the film assumes the viewer has some knowledge of the people and chain of events coming into it.
With these multiple timelines, the film is both controlling and unwieldy. Perhaps that was Nolan’s intent. Oppenheimer, it is written, was himself a man of many dualities, and a sea of contradictions. Charming and arrogant. Faithful to friends, unfaithful to the many women in his life. A prodigious intellect yet naive to the ways of the world. A brilliant physicist who led nearly 4,000 people to creating an atomic bomb without fully questioning the moral and ethical implications of whether one should. It’s a huge, sprawling epic that overwhelms. Given the history, maybe it should.
My problems with the film – it was too long. At least 20-25 minutes could have been cut. I didn’t understand why Jean Tatlock’s story (one of his mistresses, played by Florence Pugh) needed so much screen time. Some of Strauss' hearing could have been tightened. The script was part of the problem – overstuffed and unfocused in scenes – and maybe even some of the direction. I expected to be wasted on leaving and fully invested in Oppenheimer – flaws and all, and yet I felt emotionally detached from him, and a good part of the film. Possibly because the scenes moved so quickly and didn't linger on any character long enough to care. The back half of the three hours was much stronger and more engaging than the front half.
All said, I'm very glad that I saw Oppenheimer for the first time on the big screen, and I will rent it again. I may have a different take armed with more information, having watched The Day After Trinity, and having the film float around in my brain for a while.
Score: B+
Lastly, I'm not sure that any film could have lived up to the hype and frenzy that these two gathered. Both are recommended and benefit from big screen viewing for their scope and production design.
Did you do Barbenheimer, or see either film? What's your take?
Photo montage + design: © 2023 Janet Giampietro | Barbie "B," copyright Mattel | Posters copyright their respective studios.
