Humans only have one ending. Ideas live forever. “Barbie” (2023)

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directed by Greta Gerwig
© 2023 Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Are you surprised to see this post? Well… so am I writing it right now. If you’ve been following me for some time, you probably already know I wasn’t much excited about seeing “Barbie”. It’s mostly because I’ve never really enjoyed any of Greta Gerwig’s films. Not saying you should avoid her productions, quite the opposite, give them a chance because perhaps it’s just my opinion. But I believe she was more aware of what she’d doing in front of the camera, as an actress. Still, how could I skip “Barbie” since many of you are hoping to hear my opinion. So here it is: “Barbie” is Greta’s best work. Yay! Clap, clap, clap! Celebration time. However (about to ruin the moment), the potential was wasted and I’m about to tell you why I think so. First things first, if you haven’t been infected by the Barbie virus and still haven’t seen it, I need to explain the main idea. We’re going to Barbieland where we can meet very different Barbies, such as Barbie the doctor, Barbie the mechanic, Barbie the astronaut, as well as stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie). There are also Kens, who, unlike in our real world, don’t do anything useful. They simply have fun and look handsome, while Barbies do all the important jobs. The stereotypical Barbie has a secret admirer – beach Ken (Ryan Gosling), who really wants to get closer to her, but she puts her female friends first no matter what. Everyone’s living a dream until one night when the stereotypical Barbie starts wondering about death and since then strange things begin to occur, such as lack of energy, anxiety, cellulite and… flat feet! Turns out she has to travel to the real world in order to stop the process of un-Barbing her, if that makes sense. I know that a lot of people were expecting a cheerful comedy mocking Barbie the doll, but I guess most of them didn’t know Greta. It was obvious she would make a feminist drama out of it – and she did. And to be honest, I really liked the general idea of showing this Barbie world where women are empowered, but at the same time I felt uncomfortable with presenting Kens as totally useless. Trust me, I get the point and I know it was necessary for the sake of what happens later in the film *SPOILERS COMING* when Barbies pretend to be absolute idiots to let Kens feel needed and admired. I’m aware of the fact that Greta was just presenting the ridiculousness of our world there, because, let’s face it, women do often pretend to be “less” in order to comfort their men, which should not occur, so I’m glad she’s pointing that out. However, instead of demonising men so much, even in a comedic way, I’d love to see some human empowerment and equality advertisement. Because even if Greta wanted to spread such message, it’s covered with a bit of, sorry for my honesty, toxic feminism. I know that women are often not treated seriously, I know that women struggle with being seen and appreciated for who they are and not what they look like – I know all that. But instead of mocking men, perhaps we could encourage women to be assertive and brave in their actions, while men to be more open-minded and not afraid of being on the same level as their female partners, friends, family members. “Barbie” is no silly comedy for sure, because as you can see, it’s about the never-ending dilemma how to facilitate female-male relations, which is still a big and unsolved deal. It has its wonderful moments, especially the beginning and the ending, but the middle is too messy, as if a totally different person/group of people were writing that part of the film. In the end, I say you should watch it, because it really pushes to thinking of those difficult topics, but please, try to reflect on what’s there and analyse it yourself. Not everything said in films is true, I hope you remember that. And I hope that one day we will be living in some Humanland where you are enough whoever you are, without games and pretending anything. One day, perhaps…

My rating: 6/10
S.

I know a thing or two about a thing or two. “This Boy’s Life” (1993)

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directed by Michael Caton-Jones
© 1993 Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.

If you hear about Leonardo DiCaprio, I bet “Titanic” is the first film that comes to your mind. There are obviously many more, including “Shutter Island”, “Catch Me If You Can”, or “The Revenant” for which he got an Oscar. However, what if I’d like to recommend you a film with a teenage Leo, who even back then absolutely rocked his role? The story is actually based on the life of Tobias Wolff, an American writer, who had a rather difficult childhood, which for sure shaped him in a certain way. He was being raised by his mother Caroline (Ellen Barkin), who wasn’t really ready to take care of a boy like Toby (Leonardo DiCaprio). She decided to find herself a decent man with a good job and manners to provide for the family and make sure they have a brighter future. Then, she meets Dwight Hansen (Robert De Niro). Toby isn’t much thrilled about his mom dating that man, but he’s not the one to choose. Dwight indeed seems like a good partner, so the woman agrees to marry him. And yet before the marriage, Dwight begins to reveal who he really is. Turns out that Toby was right and his mom’s new husband may cause more troubles than they already have. Even though this film is based on a real story of Tobias Wolff, I believe numerous men may see themselves as little Toby. I’m glad that nowadays we try to put a spotlight on the problem of patriarchy and inequality from the perspective of women – we should definitely do more about that – but such films like this one are also incredibly important. The reason why some men act the way they do may be because they grew up surrounded by tons of toxic masculinity. Some of them might have managed their feelings and found a way to express themselves as for example artists, but there are also those who keep on acting the same way as their fathers/grandfathers/uncles because they simply don’t know any other way. I’m not saying that they should be excused for their behaviour, definitely not, but on the other hand, perhaps that makes it easier to understand their motivation to be the way they are. This production is disgusting and I can’t believe someone made me hate Robert De Niro’s character so much… How can you feel anything other than pure love towards this wonderful actor? But still, he created a true monster on the screen, which made me feel as if I was watching some dark documentary. And, as I said at the beginning, let’s not forget about Leo, who was truly born with some extra pinch of acting talent. Call me naive, but I believed that kiddo in everything he was presenting there. Even though that film duo was very toxic, I loved their cooperation and I can’t imagine anyone else doing such a great job in their place. This story reminds us that no matter how difficult our beginnings are, there’s always a chance to make everything better. I know, it sounds like some cheap motivational speech, but if you didn’t have it easy in your early years, then you know how true those words are. Besides, I hope this film reminds my male readers that there’s no such thing as a recipe to be man. You can do and be whoever you want and still call yourself a man. As long as you’re not hurting anyone and you stay happy with yourself – then you’re a man in my eyes. Slightly forgotten yet very good film, so make sure to watch it one day.

My rating: 7/10
S.

Do you have any change? “Run, Waiter, Run!” (“Vrchní, prchni”, 1981)

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directed by Ladislav Smoljak
© 1981 Filmové studio Barrandov. All Rights Reserved.

Not that long time ago I recommended you a drama about a waiter, and today we’re kind of getting back to that topic, just in a different mood. I’m a big fan of Czech humour, although I know that it’s not that popular among everyone. However, I definitely recommend you to check out today’s film because it can be a great culture lesson for everyone outside Czechia or Slovakia. Back then, when the film was being made, those two countries were one – Czechoslovakia, and they still do share a lot with each other, including that specific sense of humour. In this story we get to meet Dalibor (Josef Abrhám), who’s a middle-aged guy that hasn’t been much successful in life. He owns a little bookstore, doesn’t have an impressive car and struggles with finances basically all the time. Additionally, he’s not very good at choosing right women and for sure not at keeping them satisfied, since he already has two ex-wives and a new one, who isn’t that thrilled to be married to Dalibor. And he has to find enough money to pay them all, so imagine how difficult it must be for a simple bookstore manager. But then, one day, an angel appears to save the man from his troubles… or rather a drunk guy who accidentally takes Dalibor for a waiter and gives him money for his service, which obviously wasn’t really his. Still, that was enough for our broke guy to come up with a smart idea – he decides to dress up as a waiter, go to restaurants, pretend to be working there and collect money from the guests. And then, well, run. If this description doesn’t sound Czech to you, I guess you don’t know much about their culture. Add cheerful Czech music and sexual jokes and voilà, we’ve got a perfect Czech comedy. Oh, I forgot to mention that Dalibor suffers from a very serious condition, which makes him visualise most women in dirty circumstances… You call it “every man”, I call it “that’s the joke”. But that is why I adore Czech humour because they actually don’t mind laughing at themselves, which is wonderful and I believe we don’t think any less of them because of that, quite the opposite. Fun fact – the idea for this film came to Zdeněk Svěrák, the screenwriter, when he once went to a pub dressed up in a more elegant way and suddenly lots of guests sitting there expected him to serve them. But hey, after watching this comedy I’ll be paying more attention to this matter because I’ve just realised – we don’t really care who serves us. Sometimes we do have one waiter assigned to our table, but sometimes they change and it wouldn’t be that difficult to trick us. All you need is a nice suit/shirt, a wallet and a bit of gel on your hair. Although, nowadays most people pay with cards… or phones… damn it, technology kills such wonderful ideas. Still, if you feel inspired to try Dalibor’s method, make sure to message me with the details before the police catch you. Thank you in advance!

My rating: 7/10
S.

Give me your definition of the term ‘in real life’. “Knit’s Island” (2023)

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directed by Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse & Quentin L’Helgouac’h
© 2023 Les Films Invisibles. All Rights Reserved.

I really wanted to finally write about this documentary today, but to be fair – I asked you on Instagram whether you prefer something more difficult or more relaxing. I love the fact that most of you want to be disturbed by my recommendation, so here you go. I saw this film some time ago, but each time I wanted to write a post about it, something was pulling me away from doing that. Today, I’m taking you into a game. The directors decided to join one online multiplayer game and spent 963 hours (no, I didn’t add an extra digit there) exploring it. The idea of the game is that you kind of live in a post-apocalyptic reality, where together with other players you can build communities and do everything people could do in such circumstances. Obviously, you create your own avatar and can become whoever you wish, and it’s up to you whether you decide to join the good ones, or the bad ones. Like everywhere, there are groups that try to build healthy and supportive communities, but there are also those that feel the need to express the evil inside them. The whole film is actually happening in the game, so you may feel like one of the players discovering that mystical world. I saw this documentary during one film festival and I have to say it was one of the best choices I’d made. We may think that playing online games is just a random way of spending your free time – in the end, we all need to relax from time to time. However, thanks to the directors, we get the picture of the modern society and how social interactions have evolved. Each of those people there is a totally different story, some of which you may hear directly from them. And despite their spectacular avatars and great atmosphere they try to keep in the game, I felt like each of the players is somehow lost and finds it difficult to manage in their real life. Whether it’s an anxious introvert, a person struggling with some mental or physical limitations, or a mother that’s simply tired of her reality – they all need someone to accept them and give them a pinch of affection. This documentary, despite its original form, is quite personally significant to me because, luckily for a short period of time, I used to be an online reality addict. There were days when I was just doing the necessary in real life and then spent hours, days or sleepless nights on playing in a virtual world. It was a long time ago and I was very young back then, but I can still remember what my life looked like. You see, I’m not judging these players because we all need acceptance and if we don’t get that from one place, we try another. Since each person playing there might have some complicated background, it’s actually easier for them to bond, because they either don’t share their personal stories and enjoy having fun, or they do share and meet people who also don’t live such a Disney-like life. On the one hand, it may seem incredibly disturbing that grown-ups need to escape the reality, but on the other hand – if it helps them, who are we to judge? Some people choose therapy, some people build an avatar and kill zombies in an abandoned city. Would I get back to such life? No, surely not. But I believe this documentary shows that, despite the technological development, humans still have those old basic needs. We need friends. We need to feel valuable. The thing is that if we don’t take care of ourselves in reality, we may not be strong enough to enjoy this virtual world, and, unfortunately, some players have been neglecting themselves or people in their surroundings for the sake of the game. This is a very wide topic and I’m sure we could discuss a lot about it, but first – make sure to watch the documentary. And then, if you feel, you can always reach me to have a chat and use the Internet in a slightly safer way.

My rating: 8/10
S.

To those who fight without weapons. “The Shift” (2020)

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directed by Alessandro Tonda
© 2020 Notorious Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Finding an underrated film that I actually like is one thing, but finding a film that is so badly promoted on the Internet is another. Even though I try not to judge films by their ratings, I often check those ratings before choosing something to see. Can’t help it. When I saw today’s production’s description on one streaming platform, I was highly curious about it despite its rather average ratings. Then, after watching, I was reading more and let me just copy-paste you what I found on numerous sites about this film: “An Islamic terror attack at a school in Brussels”. Hold up! Who the hell agreed to describe this story with that particular sentence?! I guess they just watched the first 5 minutes of the film and thought “yeah, that will do”. I’m writing this post in order to share what a gem this film is and I do hope you will decide to see it. At the beginning, we meet Isabelle (Clotilde Hesme) and Adamo (Adamo Dionisi), two paramedics from Brussels. They’ve just finished their night shift, but they got a call about an emergency, which requires extra support from all possible paramedics available. Turns out that at one school there was a shooting and an explosion, which led to many injured teenagers in need of immediate medical help. When Isabelle and Adamo get there, they find an unconscious boy, so without any hesitation they just put him into the ambulance and start driving towards a hospital. The tragedy was caused by a teenager who, as that incredibly eloquent and elaborated sentence says, was a Muslim and most probably because of his beliefs was pushed to shoot his peers and detonate the bomb attached to his body. However, Isabelle and Adamo soon find out that the teenage assassin wasn’t alone and the boy that is currently in the ambulance with them is also equipped with an explosive device. And the boy is waking up. And now, if you’re not feeling like watching this film after my short description, then I’m a ballerina. I absolutely love films that make me wonder what I’d do if I were there and leave me with this terrifying thought that I’d probably just lose consciousness from stress. It’s a rather low-budget production, but the idea is just marvellous. The paramedics are obviously trapped, because no matter if they stay or get off the ambulance in a hurry, the boy can detonate the bomb anytime. I’m afraid that this film is underrated because of two reasons. One, that horrible sentence that discourages people from watching another production about terrorists. Two, perhaps religious people might be against presenting them as the bad ones. As a non-religious person it’s hard for me to share such perspective, because I try not to judge people by their beliefs, but by their actions. And I don’t care to which church or temple you go to – if your beliefs push you to hurting anyone, then I’ll see you as a bad person. Period. So I wouldn’t focus on the fact that the boys were Muslim, because it’s not even what this film is about. But if I told you what it’s actually about, then you wouldn’t decide to see it, so make sure to do that and watch it till the very end. It is terrifying, it is exciting and at the end it’s very inspirational. At least it was to me.

My rating: 7/10
S.

Hope is a monster and I am its plaything. “Three Thousand Years of Longing” (2022)

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directed by George Miller
© 2022 United Artists Releasing. All Rights Reserved.

Who feels like watching “Aladdin” for adults with Idris Elba playing a djinn with incredible women-pleasing skills? Welcome on board! And before your imagination drifts away, let me introduce you to a film that is probably one of my biggest this year’s discoveries. I was hoping for a relaxing fantasy/comedy with two talented actors, and I ended up overthinking every single scene… played by two talented actors. At the beginning, we get to meet Alithea (Tilda Swinton), who’s a narratology scholar, very much into literature and tales. The woman has got herself an old bottle in Istanbul and after rubbing it in the hotel room, she accidentally unleashed the Djinn (Idris Elba). As you might be guessing, he has the power to make her three wishes come true, but before she even considers wishing anything, they start a very long conversation. Both of them open up and tell each other background stories, and despite their obvious differences, they seem to have a lot in common. And before you think it’s some ridiculous fantasy film where a woman is talking to a fog-guy from the bottle, let me assure you there’s way more to read. I don’t want to spoil much, but to me this is a very original and fresh approach to the topic of loneliness. Alithea has dedicated her life to her passion and experienced rejection by her own husband, while the Djinn has been constantly misunderstood and, despite his good will, he kept on being abandoned and forgotten. Both of them feel unappreciated and kind of discouraged to keep trying to change their reality. And perhaps they needed to meet each other to finally gain a life supporter they deserve and need. Besides, the film is very much focused on the concept of three wishes, and I wouldn’t have done it better. In children’s films, when a character gets three wishes, they often wish for trivial stuff and sometimes there’s a lesson that certain consequences come after. However, what about teaching us that wishes can be done by ourselves only if we work hard, or that sometimes you need to sacrifice one thing to obtain another. You know what I mean? The pre-wishing stage, not what happens after. The Djinn tells the stories of people who asked him to make something happen and based on those stories we get to learn a very important lesson. Loved that part. But getting back to the topic of loneliness, I was reflecting a lot after the film and I’d like to share some random thoughts, but consider those a SPOILER, so stop reading if you haven’t seen the film. Or don’t, you little rebel. Anyway, to me this is not just a fictional story of a woman talking to a djinn. At the beginning, Alithea says: “My name is Alithea. My story is true. You’re more likely to believe me, however, if I tell it as a fairytale.” – those words made me question everything. And I have two ideas. First, it’s a story of two very real people who come from different backgrounds and find a common ground because of their hurt feelings and the need to be loved. Second, Alithea never met anyone and that’s a story of a woman who’s learnt to accept her solitude and see beyond her loneliness. And whichever version is true, I really liked this film. At first I was frowning and giggling because it was like a modernised “NeverEnding Story”/“Aladdin”/boring history lesson video material that your teacher played when they’d had too much wine the previous night. But the longer I was watching, the more fascinated I was with the form of this production. And I’m glad that there are still filmmakers who try new things instead of copy-pasting old schemes. This production was refreshing, I must say, and I know that some people might not fully enjoy it, but perhaps you like such surprises and you’ll overthink together with me. Besides, Tilda and Idris – this duo cannot let us down. Oh, and Idris nailed his ancient Greek accent in English, I swear.

My rating: 7/10
S.

Human dignity is a beautiful thing, just not for a waiter. “Hotel Pacific” (“Zaklęte rewiry”, 1975)

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directed by Janusz Majewski
© 1975 Zespół Filmowy Tor. All Rights Reserved.

Recently, I’ve read a reportage about waiters, where I could learn a little bit more about their perspectives. I’ve never had a chance to work as one, even when I was yet a student, so some of their stories surprised me indeed. And in order to put a spotlight on this particular professional group, I’ve decided to recommend you a Polish-Czechoslovak film, which may be especially interesting to those of you who, like me, never worked in a restaurant. The film was made in 1975, but the story is set in the 30s. We get to meet Roman (Marek Kondrat), a teenager coming from the countryside, who wants to find a job in the city. He accidentally enters the restaurant of a fancy hotel called “Pacific”, where they randomly offer him to become their dishwasher. Roman is used to hard and honest work, yet very quickly he realises that it’s not how you do it in such place. Even though I’ve never worked in a restaurant, I don’t live in a total bubble and I know how radical certain decision are made there, like when it comes to leftovers and such. So if you’re not a person riding a unicorn on the rainbow either, you won’t be that surprised. Still, the best part is when Roman is promoted to serve in the restaurant and you can see the contrast between what’s happening in the dining room and what’s happening out back. Even though this film is mostly dramatic, there are numerous moments where you can actually have a laugh. But generally, I found it confusing, which in this case is a big plus. What I mean is that Roman is a genuine, honest and hard-working person, but he has to fight against himself in order to be respected in that specific workplace. Soon he realises that everyone’s playing some kind of game and the better you play it, the longer you may stay there. In fact, you may be promoted as long as they don’t find out about your lies. Personally, I see myself in the character of Roman, because I’ve been taught to do my best, strive for excellence and be a decent human – polite, fair and supportive. Yet, as we all see, the world is not such a wonderful place and you have to adapt to the reality. Also, it shows how much artifice is around us. Even the Czechoslovak title of this film emphasises this point: “Dvojí svět hotelu Pacifik”, which means “A double world of hotel Pacific”. The waiter may seem like your best friend who wants you to enjoy your time, but in fact, they have a specific plan to make you stay longer, order more, pay extra. Simple as that. And I’m not judging – it’s actually pretty fair, business is business, everyone wants to earn more. But I also admire how much you need to coordinate your work as a waiter, because if you’re a good one and your guests are of a much higher status, there are numerous rules you need to remember. I believe one of my favourite moments of this film is when Roman serves one man and he asks for a glass of alcohol. Taught by his superior, Roman brings the whole bottle to the table, hoping that the guest won’t mind and, in the end, pays for the whole bottle, not just one glass. The man, however, gets furious and then Roman finds out that he’s a frequent flyer, who’s also an alcoholic, so he will easily drink that whole bottle, but he doesn’t want anyone to know, so he pretends to be having only one glass. Roman’s job is to keep filling that one glass from time to time, but never leave the bottle on the table. So, one glass stays just one glass, right? That scene says so much about this profession and the world we’re living in. Because even though the film is set in the 30s, so almost 100 years ago, I believe this whole game is ongoing. Make sure to watch it and develop your own opinion. Cheers!

My rating: 7/10
S.

I want sunshine. “Eloïse’s Journey” (“La Page blanche”, 2022)

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directed by Murielle Magellan
© 2022 Folimage. All Rights Reserved.

Imagine you experience a sudden episode of amnesia and in a second you cannot remember who you are. Creepy, yet fascinating, and that’s why I’m writing about this film today. It’s actually an adorable French rom-com with a pinch of fantasy, which indeed left me smiling, but also reflecting on my life quite a lot. Ready to forget who you are? Let’s go. The lady we’re following in this film is Eloïse (Sara Giraudeau), who finds herself sitting on a bench and realises she has absolutely no idea what’s going on. She can’t remember her name, her home address, her profession – nothing, null, nada. Additionally, she doesn’t have a cell phone, which would surely make things easier since we keep literally our whole personal data on them nowadays. Eloïse doesn’t panic and just peacefully starts making first steps in her new reality. Soon she gets to her flat, finds out where she works and decides to say nothing about her amnesia to others. However, certain people notice that Eloïse is not acting like her old self, which makes the woman question who she used to be. Especially since what she learns about the old Eloïse is not very comforting. The new Eloïse, however, seems to be very much empathic, romantic, supportive and simply polite. She keeps on living her old self life, but she makes a lot of changes in her behaviour, which opens and closes numerous doors for her. I have to say I didn’t have such high expectations before watching this one, but in the end I found it very amusing. If you like French humour, I bet you’ll have fun. It reminded me of “Amélie”, just done in a less abstract way perhaps. But as I mentioned at the beginning, this film also gave me some food for thought. What if I woke up one day not remembering who I was and then, when I’d finally learn from others who I used to be – would I be happy about myself? I know it sounds surreal, because we may believe that everything’s fine with us and we wouldn’t like to change much. But imagine you could become such human blank page – what would you do differently? Would you change your approach to life? Would you behave in the same way? Would you keep on dealing with the same people? Would you change the way you treat others? And, perhaps most important, would you change the way you treat yourself? I swear, this silly rom-com that was supposed to make my evening more pleasant left me with some kind of existential crisis and hundreds of questions stuck in my head. But do I love when films do that to me? Absolutely. So if you do too, profitez bien!

My rating: 6/10
S.

That’s the nature of trauma. “Smile” (2022)

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directed by Parker Finn
© 2022 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

I’m writing this post in over 30°C so I guess it’s clear I’m recommending a horror today. It took me some time to check this one out but you know what? It’s not bad. What I appreciate in horrors is this subtle way of making me feel scared. I don’t need a monster chasing after an ignorant teenager in the forest. Instead, it’s enough to give me creative editing, creepy music and an intense stare – and that’s it, I’m covering my face with a blanket waiting for someone to tell me what’s happening on the screen. I wasn’t watching today’s film hidden in a blanket tent, but it gave me chills and perhaps it’ll work for you too. The main character is Rose (Sosie Bacon), a therapist working with patients at a psychiatric ward. One day she meets Laura (Caitlin Stasey), a young woman struggling with some strange hallucinations. Rose is calmly explaining her patient that it might be just a certain condition, but Laura keeps panicking and forcing Rose to take her seriously. Since the patient is losing control, Rose has to call for some support, but before anyone appears, Laura immediately calms down and cuts her own throat. Before that, she stared at Rose for several seconds with a huge smile on her face. It’s a truly traumatising situation for the therapist, especially since before committing suicide Laura was describing her hallucinations as smiling people. And it seems like Laura is not the only hallucinating one… doom, doom, doom! Okay, I have to admit that the film is too long, in my opinion. At some point I felt like we already know what’s going on and keeping us wait to see what happens next wasn’t really building up on the tension. However, it’s one of those horrors that force you to stay constantly focused as you never know when you see another smile… I kind of guessed how they would finish the story, but they still managed to trick me, so I have a feeling like you might be surprised as well. Although… if you have trust issues, then maybe this film is not the best choice. I mean, after all the filmmakers are playing with our minds. Smiling is associated with something positive, while here it becomes very much disturbing, so I had those moments that the smile made me feel comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. Weird feeling. Try to see the film and perhaps you’ll experience it as well. Generally, I give my thumb up to this horror.

My rating: 6/10
S.

Don’t let the wrong man rely on you. “The Beanie Bubble” (2023)

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directed by Kristin Gore & Damian Kulash Jr.
© 2023 Apple TV+. All Rights Reserved.

Stuffed toys and patriarchy – sounds like a cool mix to base a film on. Since I’m not American, I had no idea about Beanie Babies, which have, apparently, been a big deal. For those who also feel like googling them, let me explain: Beanie Babies are stuffed toys that were exceptional in the 90s because of their original stuffing. Instead of soft materials, they were stuffed with plastic pellets, also known as “beans”. The person who we may consider as the father of Beanie Babies is H. Ty Warner, the founder of his own corporation “Ty”. He started as a toy seller and ended up making a huge career in this industry, selling sick numbers of the unique stuffed toys. Today’s film is presenting Ty and his story, more or less fictionalised, but from a slightly different perspective. Turns out that Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis) wouldn’t have achieved anything remotely similar if he hadn’t had three women in his life. Robbie (Elizabeth Banks) helped Ty start the whole business and was constantly pushing him to expand their business. In the meantime, she was also his lover, yet not the only one. Ty had another girlfriend named Sheila (Sarah Snook), who was supporting him in general operations and also, she was the mother of two daughters whose ideas were an important inspiration in making new Beanie Babies. The third significant woman in this story is Maya (Geraldine Viswanathan), who was a young student willing to find a part-time job and who ended up becoming the marketing master in Ty’s company. The names of the women were changed in the film, but their stories and impact on the company is very much real. Generally, it’s more of a comedy full of stuffed toy animals, which are pleasant to observe, obviously, but it’s also a quite peaceful drama showing patriarchy from a different perspective. When filmmakers try to do something about this topic, they often choose to show how directly men use women around them. However, in this story, all those three women were willing to support Ty and he managed to manipulate them so much that they didn’t realise how much he relies on them. I’m guessing he didn’t realise it himself either. And I’m not saying that from now on you should stop supporting your partner because perhaps they are using you – not at all. Having a supportive partner means more than anything, but make sure to take a step back and analyse your relation. Are you supporting each other, or it’s a one-way deal? And I’m not talking only about professional life support, because perhaps only one person in the couple is providing for the family. Yet, if you feel like you’re the only one being your relationship’s cheerleader, then maybe it’s time to have a talk. What I also appreciate this production for is that none of those three women are presented as absolute victims. Yes, they were manipulated and lied to, but they didn’t let Ty destroy them. They knew they worth, just simply got blinded for certain reasons. It happens. So if you’re looking for a relaxing film about female empowerment with a beardless Zach Galifianakis, then that may be a good choice for tonight.

My rating: 6/10
S.