I saw Barbie twice. I thought it deserved a second chance given the hype, like maybe I missed something, but upon viewing it a second time, it only reinforced my initial impressions. The costumes and set design were amazing but those were the best things about the movie. The script was awful! The first half was fun and silly, then it descended into preachiness and wordy dialogues that felt condescending. Whatever happened to show don't tell? Ken was way too sympathetic and I found myself rooting for him more often than not. He also had a much more interesting arc - props to Gosling - but not sure that's what Gerwig intended. In fact, I'm not really sure what she intended at all with this flick other than to pontificate. The story was all over the place. The plot line with the Mattel execs went nowhere and America Ferrara's arc felt lacking despite that monologue. While I'm happy that a women's film became a blockbuster, I'm baffled by the praise this film is getting. Robbie's acting was good but not great. I found her rather shallow and not especially sympathetic - just, meh. Gerwig needs to tone down her messaging and focus more on story.