The New Yorker’s Richard Brody is a top-notch film writer, but his tastes can veer towards total and utter bewilderment.
Yesterday, I wrote about how he believed that the Spike Lee remake of “Oldboy” was better than the original. He also abides by the church of mumblecore. He believes it’s this generation’s nouvelle vague. Let us not forget to mention his unadorned infatuation for Eddie Murphy’s “Norbit.”
Brody’s latest hot take is not his worst, but it’s far from being one of his best. He’s a big fan of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and believes it is the best movie to have ever crossed the billion dollar worldwide mark at the box-office:
“Whatever the virtues of Titanic (very minor, in my view), it's an artistic dinosaur, completely unoriginal and backwards-looking in form and style. Impressive technique, trivial artistry […] The point is that Barbie is the *best* movie to cross the billion-dollar line.”
“Barbie” was the 53rd movie in history to hit the billion dollar mark (not counting inflation). Only one other 2023 title has made more money than Gerwig’s film and that’s “Super Mario Bros.”
For a film to make over $1 billion at the box-office it has to adhere to mainstream tastes and not be too creative risk-taking — you don’t want to isolate the viewed, but, rather, coddle then with familiarity.
The fact that Gerwig’s “Barbie” has made this much money is some kind of miracle as it doesn’t necessarily play it safe. It is, however, very invested in its own identity as mass-marketed product placement. It’s a mix of art and blatant consumerism.
One look at the list of 53 movies that made $1 billion and you instantly understand why Brody would think “Barbie” is the best one of the lot. I’ve counted only nine top-tier movies, in terms of quality, to have achieved this box-office feat: “The Dark Knight,” “Titanic,” “Toy Story 3,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” “Joker,” “Skyfall,” “Jurassic Park,” “Avengers: Endgame,” and “Zootopia”
I actually find that number optimistic. Tickets for “Digger” go on sale next Tuesday, and presales will give us a better picture of how bad it’s looking.