This has turned to a monthly post kind of blog. Not precisely by choice, but as school starts to become my line of focus again in the next couple of weeks, dare I say it might become more sparse. It's been a great summer of media, and I will be doing a lil summer recap for you guys not too long for now.
Now, we discuss the media phenomenon that not only took over this summer, but also the revitalization of going to the movies: Barbenheimer.
An amalgamation of Greta Gerwig's Barbie (also known for Frances Ha, Lady Bird, Little Women) and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer (Inception, Memento, Dunkirk). The film industry is no stranger to a simultaneous release date. If anything, this only resurfaced a wave of nostalgia and reflection over history's instances of this occurrence: Blade Runner & The Thing, The Dark Knight & Mamma Mia, Ghostbusters & Gremlins, Toy Story & Casino. To name a few.
So, what makes this one so special?
Well.
There was this other phenomenon called COVID-19. It forced us into our homes and on our couches, doom scrolling our streaming services for something new and refreshing to distract us from going doomsday mode about the world collapsing around us. Films scheduled to release in theaters now faced a dilemma: being completely robbed of their masterpiece, their life's work and passion projects to be subjected to someone's television, laptop, or phone screen. The whimsy of going to the movies was gone, more on the pretenses of it simply NOT being an option. We got complacent. We found ways to still enjoy movies, and seeing them in the comfort of our PJ's and un-snuck-in candies from our pantry suited us just fine.
Movie theaters were closing. No business to bring in profit. Even as restrictions lifted and normalcy settled back on Earth, there lacked the fervor of a Sunday afternoon matinee, a date night at the movies, or a family outing to see the new Disney flick. It's now been over three years since the pandemic riddled our cinephilic zeal to debris of what once was. Enter..Barbenheimer.
Two highly reveled directors releasing their highly anticipated films in the wake of high anticipation to escape the near-melting planet to an air-conditioned theater, feasting our senses on the creation of destruction and destruction of creation; you decide which one goes to which film. The subtle nuances of overlapping commentary within these two films is hard to notice for the layman's viewer. Hence, those who choose to read through this genuinely, maybe you picked up on a few similarities.
I don't wish to make this a manifesto of matriarchal wishlists and bagging on those who slap "pro-war" and "anti-man" on these and enjoy wallowing in their indifference. I'm here to appreciate the art these two creators bestowed upon us, taking the debris of our whimsy, and nurturing it back to new heights as we flooded the theaters again.
Followed are my first-watch reviews posted to my Letterboxd, to which Oppenheimer scored a 3.5 star/7 out of 10 rating, and Barbie a 5 star/10 out of 10.
Oppenheimer
It was everything I thought it was gonna be, and Albert Einstein is adorable.
It's probably the most well-made film I've ever seen. Unforgettable sights and sounds that will never leave me. The story of a man I never have held acclaim for, and yet I endured. There were just times when i thought "Yeah, it's boring, but not because of how its being told. I'm just not that interested or invested in the subject matter in the first place." That's ME, though! Those who claim this as Christopher Nolan's 'magnum opus' and the best film they've ever seen are just as valid as me. Hence, the beauty of subjectivity.
Most wide-set cast I think I've ever seen, too. Rodrick Heffley, Josh Nichols, and Will Stronghold walk onto an Oppenheimer set: THE Holy Trinity of Nickelodeon/Disney crushes. Not to mention, Alex Wolff of Nickelodeon's Naked Brothers Band. They just weren't my brand of strawberry jam growing up. Miss Flo Pugh killing it per! the! uzh! Creds for being the sole supplier of this film's backbone tagline: NOW I AM BECOME DEATH. DESTROYER OF WORLDS. Miss Blunt serving you know what, as always, and I DEMAND a nomination for RDJ. It was a ridiculously phenomenal performance, so applause applause applause.
Cillian. Of course. This was the most in-depth role I've ever seen him in, given my Murphy portfolio spans Inception, The Dark Knight, and no other examples. He's a gem and was chosen just perfectly. A nomination IS a given at this point.
I don't know if I would see it again. I am ashamed by how many times I was checking my watch, especially after starting the movie at 7:45. I got a job. I get tired, okay? I gained the 'enheimer' experience, awaiting the 'Barb.' Though this wasn't the bombastic masterpiece I anticipated, I am still far from disappointed. This double feature is revitalizing movie theaters, and for that, it deserves everything.
Barbie
I love being a woman. It's so exhausting and unfair and scary and thankless and gross; and yet, because of films like this, it's so fun and exhilarating and comforting and uplifting and validating.
I was smiling from EAR TO EAR when I wasn't teary and emotional. It's so enjoyable and entertaining every! damn! minute! Not one peep at the watch. I'll get my one complaint out of the way: I just needed more. An hour and fifty-four runtime was very generous, but maybe half an hour more to flesh out some characters and develop the mother-daughter themes a bit more would make it over the TOP perfect. It's not that big enough of a qualm to shave any star rating, though.
Character developments are out the wazoo. Everyone's got a hero's journey worth of an arc and it's beautiful to see. The tone shifts were balanced, just not with a lot of titillating tinkered control, hence its manic state at points. I adore it, but others just aren't into that.
All the statements and 'points' they wish to make completely landed for me. I'm more of a feminist than the rest of my group, so I grasped those themes a bit deeper. The representation and matriarchal prophecies gave me so much hope for the real world; a glimpse of what Barbieland could bleed over into this society. I left the theater empowered, self-reflective, subtly melancholy, and already fiending for a second watch. Also humming just about every song in this soundtrack. Just too good.
I wasn't a Barbie girl growing up. I didn't like dolls at all if I'm honest, yet I felt like the little Mo watching this deep within me was nurtured and deeply comforted by this. I wish my Gigi were alive to see this. She was the most Barbie-coded human being I'll ever know, and I think she would've appreciated the passion and sweet lessons extended from this film. Every time Rhea Perlman, Miss Ruth, Mrs. Wormwood, Carla Tortelli popped up on screen, I was misty-eyed. I love that woman to pieces, and everything she represents and represented inside and outside this film. In a way, my Gigi was right next to me in the form of her character.
Margot is perfect no matter what, this is common knowledge. The film itself acknowledges it! Shoutout Helen Mirren, perfect casting on that. Perfect casting, period. All Barbies, Kens, Will Ferrell, half of the titular roles in Sex Education, and Michael Cera's Allan. Sweet Allan, for the girls Allan.
I just love this post that I saw on Twitter not too long ago that said that the supporting actor role is between bald man scary RDJ, and textbook himbo horse boy Ryan Gosling. This performance tops any of his rom-com-drama heartthrob roles. This one had all of his looks, but so much heart and soul within it, too. So beyond hilarious, too. He just liked the horses part of patriarchy, the poor man.
I think I could keep going on and on and on. This film is perfect to me and I don't care what anyone else says. This is MY Oppenheimer. It's beautiful and gorgeous and everything I wanted and I wish it was three hours and fifteen minutes instead. They could've switched the runtimes of Barbenheimer and I'd be content. Alas, I'll praise the stuff we got.
As of this post's creation, according to Box Office Mojo, Oppenheimer has grossed $425 million worldwide, with Barbie blowing it out of the water with $823 million, expected to surpass $1 billion after this weekend. It's the biggest debut of any female director ever, the biggest box office weekend since the pandemic, and the fourth biggest opening weekend of all time.
Given, Oppie is for the history buffs, Nolan superfans, and those who did the Barbenheimer double feature for the sake of contributing to its trend. Barbie gets the double feature viewers, Greta Gerwig stans, mothers and daughters of all ages, super supportive troopers of boyfriends/brothers/fathers, and friend groups who desperately needed a night out excuse to dress in all pink.
Oh yes. Any person on social media or the real world around a movie theater knows when someone is seeing Barbenheimer. There are those in suits and porkpie hats, or in blinding shades of magenta, fuchsia,
coral, and peach. Similarly to the Minions: The Rise of Gru phenomenon that occurred last summer, where groups of people dressed in suits and moshed to the screening of Illumination's newest addition to the Despicable Me franchise, the fun of getting dressed for the movies became a thing again. A theme night. I think of olden times (that I've seen in movies, go figure), when going to the movies was an event equating to hitting the Ritz and walking a red carpet on the way there. I imagine elegant gowns with sashes over the shoulders and cigarette holders, Breakfast at Tiffany's-style for any slapstick comedy or rom-drama that was hitting the silver screen. Barbenheimer gifted us that experience of GETTING READY for the movies, not like leaving the house in what we slept in with half of our bed's blankets. Don't worry, I like that route, too. Just not for these films.
What a time to love the movies. For all the lessons they bring us, the emotions they imbue within us, and the unforgettable memories surrounding the content of the film and the circumstances outside it to each one of us. Thank you for reading or skimming, and I look forward to this new era of my life, post-Barbenheimer. I'm headed to a new city, new university, new people, new job, new home, and I just can't wait to get started.
Cheers and love always,
Mo.
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To keep track of those grossing box office numbers:
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