I first saw the trailer for the new Barbie movie scrolling through my Instagram in May. I couldn’t tell if it would be worth seeing or not and I wasn’t necessarily freaking out that a Barbie movie was being released this summer. My friends were totally stoked and began their countdown to opening night.

I honestly thought it would be just some cash cow, run of the mill snooze fest with a corny script and a dull storyline. When movie critics got a sneak peek of Barbie before it opened worldwide, the consensus was that the writing was witty, the acting was top-notch and that Barbie was a surprisingly brilliant film. It’s being called one of the best movies of the year as various artists in the entertainment industry are vocalizing that Director Greta Gerwig should be practicing her Oscar speech already.

I started to hear that Barbie was an extremely feminist movie that forces the audience to re-examine their beliefs on social issues, like patriarchy and equality. Okay fine, I was now intrigued. I mean, Margot Robbie? Sold. I think Margot is on her way to becoming one of the best actresses of our generation.

I love Ryan Gosling & America Ferrara as well, so I decided to see what all the hype was about. I went with my mom last Sunday to see Barbie and I immediately observed that most of the people in the theatre were women. I also witnessed mothers bringing in their 5-10 year olds to the movie and literally none of their children were laughing. The vibe and humor of Barbie is absolutely aimed towards adults and is wildly over the heads of anyone less than 13 years old.

While I thought the first 30 minutes of Barbie was ridiculously cheesy, the overall quality of this movie was really quite astounding. The acting, cinematography and the comedic style throughout the film, all blend together to produce a movie that everyone should see.

Barbie sheds light on the men versus women issues in the world and clearly sends a direct message to moviegoers that patriarchy still exists. Men are still favored over women in politics and men typically are chosen over women in sports, business ventures and in job interviews. Barbie suggests that no matter what kind of person one chooses to be or qualities we inherit from birth, that all of us are just Barbie’s trying to make it in an often cruel, yet beautiful world.

Photo | Mattel Creations