I did not have incredibly high expectations for the lengths that some may have felt this film will go into, maybe because of it being sided with Nolan's Oppenheimer, but you should maybe your readjust your expectations a bit before going into this to enjoy the full experience. What I mean is that there are hints of the graceful indie style of directing Gerwig presented in her previous works, but it is mostly set up as a blockbuster comedy, but one that is still really enjoyable.

As for the film itself, I think it's a wonderfully fun filmgoing experience, a visually beautiful film with colours that bring you to an ecstatic high. Incredible comedic performance by Gosling lives and breathes the character of Ken and gives it his all, my favourite scene is definitely the musical sequence. Margot Robbie does a great job as well, especially the emotional scenes, although for some reason I feel like she was a bit back-sided throughout the film, I didn't feel like she was leading the audience, but rather being lead herself by the supporting cast, some of which were really underwhelming or uninteresting, or only there for their faces and fame. The problem is that the film does rely a lot on these characters at times, which does not help.

The major problem with the film for me is that there is a disconnect, there is the film that Warner Brothers and Mattel wanted to make, and there is the obvious talent that is Greta Gerwig. Weirdly, it's become apparent now to me why she has amassed such a huge following, I'll definitely be rewatching Little Women soon. The disconnect that I felt was mostly present in the screenplay, some scenes are incredibly crafted in terms of writing, directing, and acting. While others, especially the Will Ferrell stuff, dragged on for so much and brought down the tempo by a lot, I have already forgotten his role in the film. This imbalance left me a bit confused honestly, there was a good balance of dramatic moments and comedic ones, that was not the issue, but there are entire sequences and scenes, especially in the middle where I felt the quality dropped and the plot was spread very thin at times.

In terms of production, this is definitely going to strongly compete at the Oscars next year. Production design, costume design, hairstyling and make-up, and cinematography, everything is so lively and gorgeous. I loved how much the film embraced the culture and history of the Barbie toyline.

All these wonderful technical aspects, great casting, talented directing, and impressive visuals make up for what I thought was a bit of a lacklustre story, one with very obvious themes about feminism and womanhood, which may stir some controversy around the film. For me, I believe it was well-intended for it's target audience. Some of my issues lie not in the content itself but it's execution, as it can come off as a bit too preachy, almost directly laying it out to the audience instead of showing it. It is directly communicating to these young girls about what they are going through, and while Gerwig has heavily touched such subject matter in her previous work more eloquently, it still does what it needs to, tell an inspiring story of self-discovery and reflection using the most popular toyline in the world.

I believe that this is the best this film could have ever been done. Gerwig does what she is able to do within the constraints of corporate commercialisation and blockbuster filmmaking, to deliver a beautiful, fun, and energetic film with compelling themes that will continue to grow a cult following.