Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Issa Rae in the Greta Gerwig movie ‘Barbie’

Based on the Mattel fashion dolls bearing the name Barbie, the Greta Gerwig directed movie Barbie (2023) rings in a new year in movie reviews for Matt Lynn Digital. Written by Gerwig with Noah Baumbach, this live-action movie follows dolls and into Barbieland with a crossing over into the real world and back.

(From left, America Ferrera as Gloria, Margot Robbie as Barbie, aka Stereotypical Barbie, and Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha in the Greta Gerwig movie Barbie).

The character Barbie, also known as Stereotypical Barbie to distinguish from other Barbie characters in Barbieland, opens the movie living a seemingly charmed life as portrayed by Margot Robbie. Barbie lives among different versions of Barbie, Kens and discontinued models of dolls treated as examples of lesser versions of the Barbie dream, namely her as the character children play with at will.

(Ryan Gosling as Ken, aka Beach Ken in the Greta Gerwig movie Barbie).

Ken, also known as Beach Ken, was portrayed by Ryan Gosling. As with Barbie, other versions of the doll are present among the props for Stereotypical Barbie to enjoy her land. Like his counterpart, other actors/actresses inhabit Barbie and Ken in Barbieland. Ken longs for love from Barbie in the land, wherein Barbie gets to have fun at will while Ken drifts away without a real sense of love from Barbie, who is so focused on her own happiness that she cannot bring herself to see the needs for love and other fulfillment that Ken needs.

(Issa Rae as President Barbie in the Greta Gerwig movie Barbie).

Inspired by drawings of dark realities as created by Mattel employee Gloria, portrayed by America Ferrera, Stereotypical Barbie begins to experience human imperfections that come with growing older. First, Stereotypical Barbie turns to Weird Barbie as portrayed by Kate McKinnon for support and guidance. Stereotypical Barbie agrees to driver her convertible into the real world, leaving President Barbie as portrayed by Issa Rae, behind. The point of entering the real world is to locate the child who most likely had prompted the feelings of loss that Stereotypical Barbie had only recently experienced begun to feel.

(Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie in the Greta Gerwig movie Barbie).

Beach Ken most certainly enters the real world at the same time Stereotypical Barbie enters the real world. While Ken comes to learn some things about his own journey in the real world, Stereotypical Barbie first meets Sasha, the daughter of Mattel employee Gloria. Stereotypical Barbie further meets Ruth Handler, the co-founder of Mattel, and in the CEO of Mattel. Sasha, Handler and the CEO were portrayed by Ariana Greenblatt, Rhea Perlman and Will Ferrell, respectively. The experiences Stereotypical Barbie, Beach Ken and the others take back to Barbieland have real effects in the real world and Barbieland that threaten to change things uncomfortably for Barbie, Ken and the real world. The depth of the story that follows include appropriate toy land features that blend into intensely real world considerations that were unexpectedly mature.

(From left, Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler, the co-founder of Mattel and Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel in the Greta Gerwig movie Barbie).

The movie Barbie manages a slightly subversive sense of itself and its comedic mystery in sharing what turns into the central dilemmas that get the characters to the place of understanding and resolutions needed for movies. The movie works for a wider range of audience than I was expecting, which was a pleasant development. Thus, I give Barbie as directed by Greta Gerwig 4.0-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, January 3, 2024

Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel and Shawn Doyle in the Gregory Hoblit movie ‘Frequency’

With the recent celebration of Father’s Day in the United States last Sunday, the link between father and son brought the Gregory Hoblit produced and directed movie Frequency (2000) to mind. Recommended to me by Engineered Tire Friend, the movie entertains a unique premise linking father and son across time in their Queens, New York home separated by 30 years.

(From left, Dennis Quaid as Frank Sullivan and Daniel Henson as 6-year-old Johnny Sullivan in the Gregory Hoblit movie Frequency).

The bond between firefighter Frank Sullivan and his son John Francis (Johnny) Sullivan, a policeman, was clear and strong from the moment we met the pair. The 6-year-old son and his father bonded over the New York Mets, who faced the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series. It was a particularly intense appearance of an aurora that connects Frank with his son, 30-years into the future over a single-sideband ham radio. Dennis Quiad, Jim Caviezel and Daniel Henson portrayed Frank Sullivan, John Sullivan as an adult, and 6-year-old Johnny Sullivan, respectively.

(From left, Noah Emmerich as Gordo Hersch, Michael Cera as Gordy Hersch and Jim Caviezel as John Francis Sullivan in the Gregory Hoblit movie Frequency).

John Sullivan and Frank Sullivan happen to have the unusual ability to speak over the ham radio, with the unusual effect of the son getting to save his father’s life. The realization that the pair is speaking of the 1969 World Series in the present tense of 1999, serves up the miracle of John saving his father’s life by relating advice for how to make a different decision in the fire that had killed Frank and truncated John’s emotional growth. A serious side effect is enabled, drawing in Julia Sullivan, Satch DeLeon and Gordo Hersch, John’s mother, John’s boss on the police force, and John’s neighbor and friend. Elizabeth Mitchell, Andre Braugher and Noah Emmerich portrayed Julia, Satch and Gordo, respectively. Michael Cera portrayed Gordy Hersch, Gordo’s son, while Stephen Joffe portrayed 6-year-old Gordo Hersch.

(From left, Elizabeth Mitchell as Julia Sullivan and Andre Braugher as Satch DeLeon in the Gregory Hoblit movie Frequency).

It is the ongoing ham radio link that enables the evolving memory of John, as a policeman in 1999, to realize how life has been changing as he is connected to his father. The connection leads to an evolving case of crime with multiple victims, without a clear understanding for why the simple fact of Frank’s life would have an impact on that crime. The drama commences, bringing into focus the experiences of policeman Jack Shepard, Satch DeLeon, and others closest to John in the two timelines. The underlying drama offers an engaging story of familial love, justice, and the lengths to go in pursuing justice. Jack Shepard was portrayed by Shawn Doyle.

(Shawn Doyle as Jack Shepard in the Gregory Hoblit movie Frequency).

Toby Emmerich had screenwriting and producer credit in bringing Frequency to the big screen. There’s a sweetness underpinning the mystery and dramatic underpinnings connecting the film. While there is an element of the film trying to be more things than it really needed to be, the core storylines pleasantly and surprisingly come together in offering a whole that exceeds the parts. I grant the Gregory Hoblit movie Frequency 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Elliot Page, Michael Cera and Jennifer Garner in the Jason Reitman movie ‘Juno’

Imagine a 16-year-old high-school junior from Minnesota learning in the fall of the school year that a single intimate encounter has left her pregnant. Imagine then, at the abortion clinic, that the girl decides to take the baby to term and offer the baby up for adoption. The Jason Reitman directed coming-of-age story that we look at today is Juno (2007), which was first released fifteen years ago.

(From left, Olivia Thirlby as Leah, and Elliot Page as Juno MacGuff in the Jason Reitman movie Juno).

Elliot Page portrayed the title character of Juno MacGuff, the birth mother and girlfriend to Paulie Bleeker, the father of Juno’s child. When Juno learns of her pregnancy, she and Paulie have not yet formalized their notion of being a couple. Contemplating what to do with the pregnancy in the face of this, Juno turns to her friend, Leah, to help consider her next course of action. Olivia Thirlby portrayed Leah. The initial options struck upon do include abortion and adoption, with sharpness of teenage perspective in the title character seizing the day.

(Michael Cera as Paulie Bleeker, the father of Juno’s child, in the Jason Reitman movie Juno).

Michael Cera portrayed Paulie Bleeker, the biological father of Juno’s child. It is following the decision to seek an adoption for the child that Juno and Leah decide upon to seek a couple to adopt Juno’s child through the newspaper. The explicit emotional support beyond Leah that Juno seeks comes from her father Mac and her stepmother, Bren. J.K. Simmons portrayed Mac MacGuff as Allison Janney portrayed Bren MacGuff; both parents offer understanding and emotional support.

(From left, J.K. Simmons as Mac MacGuff, Juno’s father and Allison Janney as Bren MacGuff, Juno’s stepmother, in the Jason Reitman movie Juno).

Juno establishes contact with Vanessa and Mark Loring, who are looking to adopt a child. Juno agrees to a closed adoption with the Lorings, bolstered in part by a shared interest in punk rock and horror movies with Mark. Juno and Leah later see Vanessa being completely at ease with a child at a shopping mall, which points to the notion of this particular couple as the future mother of the child made by Paulie and Juno.

(From left, Jason Bateman as Mark Loring and Jennifer Garner as Vanessa Loring in the Jason Reitman movie Juno).

Mark and Vanessa were portrayed by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, respectively. When the visits Juno makes through her pregnancy to continue bonding with the prospective parents of her child, Mark confesses first to Juno and then to Vanessa that he is not ready to be a father. As the Loring marriage seems to be heading to divorce, Juno struggles with her emotions for Paulie Beeker. With guidance from her own father in reconciling her feelings, Beeker and the young MacGuff realize genuine love for each other. This is put to the test later in the movie as the pangs of labor occur within the context of the Loring divorce, a track meet for Paul Beeker, and confusion over what comes next.

(From left, director Jason Reitman, actor Elliot Page and actor Jason Bateman at an event for the Jason Reitman movie Juno).

The movie Juno does bring the question of what comes next, as evidenced by the Academy Award win for original screenplay by Diablo Cody. The facing of unplanned pregnancy at multiple levels combined with a healthy sense of engaging with significant people in her life that mostly acquitted themselves well emotionally, with relevant complexities for a comedy drama made for uplifting entertainment. The messaging in the film largely attempts to speak to the better instincts for how to engage in the subject matter around choices being available and chosen. I grant Juno as directed by Jason Reitman 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, January 12, 2021