'Barbie:' 5 highlights from the movie that will make you laugh, cry and feel all sorts of emotions

The much-awaited film of 2023 "Barbie" finally hit the Philippine cinemas, and it was victorious in making the viewers feel all sorts of emotions—you'll laugh, cringe from time to time, get surprised with blatant mockeries and commentaries, and ultimately, you'll cry a little.

"Barbie," headlined by Margot Robbie as the main character Barbie and Ryan Gosling as the leader Ken, tells the story of the difference between the superficial life in Barbieland and the complicated life in the real world.

The movie also tells the history of how the beloved doll came to life, with a wry narration of Helen Mirren speaking about Barbie manufacturer Mattel Inc. and its co-founder Ruth Handler.

Overall, it's a movie that lets you revel in the shallowness of the plastic life but also makes you appreciate all the good things about living in the "real world."

If you haven't seen the movie yet, you may stop reading until this paragraph as GMA News Online gives five highlights from "Barbie" that stood out in the almost two-hour film.

1. Barbie's arched feet fall flat

In the film, the plot thickens when Barbie has thoughts about death one night, then wakes up with her arched feet falling flat on the floor the following day.

This scene signaled all the imperfections that Barbie would encounter in the following scenes, including her hair being messy and not so picture-perfect, her shower being cold, her milk expired, her waffles burnt, and her inability to float in the air like she used to.

Basically, once her feet fell flat, she instantly became a perfectly imperfect human being, and it was because a human played with her a little too hard in real life, and the only way to fix it was to find her in the real world.

2. Normalizing cellulite in a wrong way

After Barbie experienced all sorts of malfunctioning as a perfect plastic doll, another thing she realized was having cellulite on her thighs. Only humans have cellulite and not plastic dolls, so Barbie freaked out about the idea, making her decide to visit the real world and find the person playing with her a little too hard.

This scene would be great if having cellulite was redeemed in the end as normal and something you should not be ashamed of. Instead, the film depicted it as disgusting and that you should get rid of it immediately.

3. Ken is obsessed with Barbie and not the other way around

True to one of the beloved doll's catchphrases, "You can be anything you want," Barbie in this film is very independent. She goes about her day being an accomplished woman in her chosen field and doesn't rely on a man to feel whole.

In the film, Ken is seen obsessing over Barbie's attention. If Barbie didn't look or greet her, his day would be incomplete.

Contrary to the many stories we've heard, Barbie is not in love with Ken. He is simply obsessed with her.

4. Crying will do you more good than you realize

When Barbie went to the real world and realized that it was far different from Barbieland, she was confused and felt something she couldn't explain because she hadn't felt it before (It was anxiety).

In the real world, she experienced cat-calling, witnessed gender inequity, a taste of patriarchy, and more everyday stuff humans always deal with. Among all these things, Barbie experienced crying for the first time after being in a complicated situation, and then she felt relief afterward by doing so.

The benefit of crying was something she brought with her when she returned to Barbieland. It was the first time she felt real emotions, and she has chased it ever since.

5. Don't take people for granted

Ken may be obsessed with Barbie, but he is a good doll, especially with her. Towards the movie's end, Barbie realizes how much she is taking Ken for granted, which she apologizes for.

In the process, she helped Ken to stand on his own without relying on other people. He failed to win Barbie's love, but he learned a much more important lesson — he is "Kenough."

Directed by Greta Gerwig, "Barbie" stars Margot, Ryan, America Ferrara, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Dua Lipa, and Will Ferrell.

It's now showing in Philippine cinemas after the MTRCB said it found no basis to ban "Barbie" in the Philippines over an alleged depiction of China's nine-dash-line map.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News