On a comedic level, Barbie is perfect. Obviously aware of trending topics and internet memes, the movie never fails to burst waves of laughter every three to five minutes. Every element in this film will become a punchline at one point or another, including awkward dialogues, exaggerated movements, unexpected responses, the Sex Education trio, John Cena cameo, Helen Mirren's epic one-liner, and much more. One actor to be complimented is Ryan Gosling, who bestows a childly himbo character Ken with charismatic idiocy and amusing lightheartedness, in great contrast to his previous sigma characters like K from Blade Runner 2049.

In terms of story, though, not much success can be claimed. With the movie's central conflict revolve around gender inequity, Barbie highlights the problem clearly, but provides an ambiguous answer. Although Gloria's monologue was unquestionably badass, both her and Sasha's character arcs are quite unconvincing. In general, the film gives either opaque or passive solutions to gender issues, which align with mainstream opinion, but are inherently fantastical especially with the plain storyline.

In my opinion, Barbie's box office wonder largely results from its marketing, whether the grand casting, the luring mystique, or the bombastic pink. And yes, the movie is incredible for its aestheticism and creativity, but the story is overly fantastical and lacking gravity.