July 2023 had one of the biggest box office weekends of the year. July 21 released two big films, Barbie and Oppenheimer, which brought audiences back to the theater. The film’s phenomenon known as Barbenheimer absolutely rocked the nation. Both films made money and received good reviews, but only one climbed to the top.

Barbie by Greta Gerwig is the surprise hit of the summer. The film dealt with essential and mature themes but delivered them in a candy-coated and accessible package. It was also a film that was a financial juggernaut, something that studios were craving.

Even on its second weekend, Barbie had one of the year’s biggest recorded box-office weekends. It was a story that advertised itself as something for Barbie fans. When in actuality, the film became a story that was much deeper. Its more profound messages made a finished product that was for all audiences. Barbie’s massive success can best be attributed to two critical factors. The first is the talented and surprisingly moving lead performances of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

Related: Barbie: 11 Best Performances in Greta Gerwig’s Movie, Ranked

The Leads Deepen the Material
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The roles of Ken and Barbie can be deemed by many to be “archetypal.” It’s a boy and a girl with a mutual infatuation with one another. Both portrayals have a difficult balancing act to accomplish. Gosling and Robbie have to pay tribute to the archetypes that society places on these characters. Simultaneously, they have to evolve and gain agency as the story progresses. Each actor has to achieve this success in an entirely different method. Their journeys involved different paths to what they both wanted.

Robbie’s version of Barbie is someone dealing with an existential crisis. She begins to want more than her “perfect life” in Barbieland may give her. The character goes on a journey of self-discovery in ways that audiences can relate to. People of all ages struggle to find their purpose, which is why the character is instantly likable.

Gosling’s Ken lived a “purpose” that would never pan out. His and Barbie’s adventure into the human world gives them both a different idea of “purpose.” Ken’s time in the human world made him think that men simply “rule it all.” Both Gosling and Robbie convey that naivety in a relatable way. Viewers can identify with sometimes getting their thoughts and priorities entirely blindsided. In the film, the character’s eventual understanding of their mistakes helps reach a profound result.

Barbie’s characters go on a journey of self-discovery throughout. What they discover about themselves and each other is something different from what was expected. It is a profound take that gets deeper than a film that was advertised to be about “gender politics.”

The film is entirely about these characters finding an identity and purpose. Robbie and Gosling showcase this seamless transition with the help of their director and writers. Co-written by Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig (who also directs), the film turns “gender norms” on their head.

Related: Barbie Had a Post-Credit Scene with an Anticipated Cameo and a Returning Character

Greta Gerwig Satirizes Society in an Affectionate Way
A24

Gerwig is attempting to satirize a lot of the thoughts of the modern audience on gender. How she critiques gender has already stirred up controversy for many viewers. She has made a film that is, of course, meant to celebrate “female empowerment.” Whereas some audiences have been uncomfortable with what deeper points she is making. It is a film that stirred up an important conversation for 2023. That conversation has been one point that has drawn audiences back for repeated viewings.

Since COVID-19, no movie has stirred up this level of conversation. Simultaneously the film also succeeds at being entertaining. Barbie is by no means just a “thought-provoking” story about politics. It’s told in an easily digestible and very entertaining narrative package, making viewers think.

There is nothing in Barbie that feels like Gerwig is wagging her finger at the audience. If it were telling viewers how to feel or belittling them, it would not be as big of a success. Everything she is saying in the film is told in a way that’s kind, without having viewers berated.

We are finally back into an official “summer movie season.” Viewers want to see a film that is entertaining, which Greta Gerwig clearly understands. She pulls off a tricky tonal balancing act. Barbie and Ken face their own existential crises when they enter the modern world.

Their problems feel relatable in places while also teaching the audience important life lessons. A film that teaches lessons and gives insight into the world while also being entertaining is tricky to make. Gerwig has done so with the reviews and box office to prove its success.

Barbie could go down as one of 2023’s most financially successful, as well as positively reviewed. Its deep story was something that audiences did not expect. The performances engaged viewers in the character’s journey, delivering a laugh-out-loud result. Its hardy laughs bring down audiences’ guard for the deeper meanings.

Those discussions in the film about identity and purpose have connected with critics as well. Simultaneously, those ideas gave audiences something to talk about long after the credits rolled. This is why Barbie is dominating Summer 2023 for all the right reasons. It is also a welcome reminder that cinema is alive and well!