First reactions from Barbie premiere praise humor, Gosling’s scene-stealing Ken

Now that Barbie and Ken are out of their boxes and have walked the red — or is it pink? — carpet, with the world premiere of Barbie taking place at the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles last night. Now that the first reactions to Barbie have come in, we can finally know once and or all: was what we once took as a joke worth it? According to those at the premiere…You bet your plastic butt!

The first reactions to Barbie have endlessly praised the humor, fun factor and cast, with Ryan Gosling being singled out for his turn as blonde bimbo Ken. It’s even being championed for its apparent “social commentary”, which can even be seen throughout the Mattel line’s history, showing major progressive attitudes over the past decades.

Barbie seems to have exceeded all expectations, going from a questionable project that bounced around other stars, directors and scripts before landing with Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Even then it was met with skepticism, with moviegoers asking, How could you possibly make a good movie out of a doll? As it turns out, it’s entirely possible, with Barbie proving to be not just one of the most-talked about movies of 2023 but getting rave reviews right out of the gate.

While we’ll have to wait and see if Barbie garners any Oscar nominations, it does have some backing based on the reactions from the premiere. On the Oscar front, Gerwig, Robbie and Gosling do have seven nods between them. Robbie and Gosling earning Academy Award recognition for their work does seem like a bit of a stretch – this seems more in line with the Golden Globes, although the production design could be a surprise – they do have to at least present a category together.

Barbie’s plot: “A doll living in ‘Barbieland’ is expelled for not being perfect enough and sets off on an adventure in the real world.”

Do the reactions from the Barbie premiere make you more excited for the movie? Will you be catching it on opening weekend? Let us know in the comments section below!