I saw Barbie over the weekend. I respect the Jack Butler and Luther Abel takes, but it seemed like a straight-up feminist screed to me. Yes, by the end it is acknowledged that the Kens should not be totally subordinate in the Barbie world, but that’s not a huge concession. On the positive side of the ledger, despite the inclusion of a trans actor, you couldn’t get a more intense, thorough-going depiction of the gender binary. Also, as Jack notes, Ryan Gosling was great. There were some genuinely funny scenes, usually involving Gosling, but overall? Tiresome. One-and-half stars.