



To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails. The supporting cast includes Simu Liu, Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, and Michael Cera. Characters demonstrate empathy and perseverance, and Barbieland is populated by a diverse group of Barbies and Kens from a range of body sizes, abilities, genders, and racial and ethnic backgrounds. There's a bleeped use of "motherf-" (plus "crap," "shut up," "oh my God," etc.), a couple of big brawls with silly weapons, slapstick chases, beer drinking, and near-constant mentions of Barbie-maker Mattel. While there's no sex in the movie (the Barbies and Kens are frank about not having genitals), Kens are shown shirtless, Barbies get catcalled, and there are suggestive references to the dolls' bodies - including Ken's "nude bulge" - and how a male-dominated society expects women to be ornamental and helpful. The movie follows "Stereotypical Barbie" ( Margot Robbie) and her handsome but insecure (boy)friend, Ken ( Ryan Gosling), as they venture into the human world and discover the shocking-to-them truth that Barbie dolls didn't actually solve the problems of sexism and patriarchal control. Parents need to know that writer-director Greta Gerwig's all-star take on Barbie has a sophisticated message about feminism and the patriarchy (and, consequently, a screenplay that will likely go over younger kids' heads).
