Barbenheimer: Take That Marvel

This summer, most of the movie buzz and pretty much ALL of it during July has been about two new films released in late July – Barbie and Oppenheimer, collectively and humorously known as Barbenheimer.  Barbie, after just two weeks, already has already grossed over a billion dollars worldwide. Oppenheimer, over the same two-week period, has hauled in a “mere” $550 million. 

Barbenheimer has been such a phenomenon, I thought it might be fun to hear readers' opinions about these two films if you’ve seen them; and if you have not done that, whether you plan on seeing either or both – and why or why not. If I get enough responses from readers (and if they are interesting), I may publish a few of these in lieu of a formal review - anonymously of course, to preserve the modesty and privacy of those I quote.  Feel free to express yourself, pro or con. I do hope you’ll take a moment to send me your thoughts. Respond to lenweiler@yahoo.com. [To be considered for publication, please do so by August 20, 2023.]

So much has been said by so many other reviewers and commentators in print and in social media about Barbie and Oppenheimer, that I see no point in penning any sort of formal review myself, which would just add to the pile. But here are my brief takes:

I saw Barbie just a couple days after its nationwide release, at a Sunday matinee in a largely pink-clad crowd of very enthusiastic people. The crowd was fun. The movie was pretty great in my opinion, and the opposite of plastic. The picture has a great look – phenomenal, creative set design, costuming and the like; surprisingly creative characterizations and a how-did-they-manage-to-dream that-up story (about the well-known doll, who, despite its longevity, had no previous backstory whatsoever); along with a remarkably witty script; strong, but not heavy-handed messaging; and nice performances from a star-studded cast, headed by Margot Robbie as “Stereotypical Barbie” and Ryan Gosling as the most prominent “Ken”. Other standout’s are Kate McKinnon as “Weird Barbie”, Issa Rae as “President Barbie”, Simu Liu as another “Ken”, Michael Cera – hilarious as  “Alan (Ken’s friend)”, America Ferrera as “Gloria”, and Helen Mirren, who narrates.

A week and a half later I saw Oppenheimer at a weekday matinee attended by just three (including me).  It’s a biography, of course, about J Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant and complicated physicist known as the “father of the atomic bomb”, not a bright pink fantasy like Barbie. It’s also a full three hours long (compared to a tad under two hours for Barbie. So, Oppenheimer is more of a commitment. It, too, is an excellent picture in my opinion, well researched, emotionally involving, and as we approach “Trinity” - the first test of the “gadget” (as the prototype A-bomb was called) – brilliantly, teeth-clenchingly riveting. It is quite a story, well worth seeing.  Oppenheimer features several superlative performances, most particularly Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer himself. Other standouts include Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, Oppenheimer’s eventual nemesis; Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, Oppie’s beautiful but troubled lover; Matt Damon as General Leslie Graves; and Emily Blunt, as Kitty Oppenheimer, Oppie’s wife. Christopher Nolan (Memento, Inception, The Dark Knight trilogy, Dunkirk) organized and directed this epic biopic - one of his best and most important films. 

Both films are currently in wide release.

Barbie runs 1 hour 54 minutes and is rated PG-13 [for suggestive language]

Grade: A

Oppenheimer runs 3 hrs exactly and is rated R  [for nudity, sexual situations and language]

Grade: A-