It was cool. An old school style comedy movie. There are some problems with it though. It reminded me of the 90s comedy movies that were based on SNL sketches. Casting Will Ferrell and Kate McKinnon may have contributed to that feeling, but it was more due to the lack of character development and lazy story logic. The second half of the film was a bit of a mess, they couldn't tie all the threads into a satisfying climax.
As far as the politics, its not more feminist or 'woke' than you would expect for a mainstream toy IP movie. It would be bizarre if they didn't comment on sexism, and Barbie's problematic history. The criticisms of masculinity are accurate but toothless. There are so many biological and logistical reasons why the patriarchy evolved in human society, and the film has no perspective on that or even how things could or should change for the better. 'Smashing the patriarchy' is not realistic. Its a slogan on a T-shirt, a meme for 15 year olds.
The best part of the movie is Ryan Gosling. In the showing I saw, he got almost all the laughs. He completely steals the show, which is unfortunate if its actually intended to be a feminist film. Margot Robbie looks the part and gives exactly the performance you'd expect, which is fine. I almost wish they would have cast America Ferrera as Barbie, just to make better use of her. Will Ferrell is another role that falls flat.
Its flawed, but theres enough laughs in it to make it the best straight comedy film in a few years. Hopefully studios will see that good comedy films from talented people can make money.
"
