‘Barbie,’ what a doll

and serious, musically-driven summer entertainment that will have as much appeal to adults (especially those in the LGBTQ community) as it will to the younger set (although guncles should avoid taking nieces and nephews under the age of 13 to see the movie).

Beginning with an inspired homage to the opening of Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” featuring narration by Helen Mirren (who pipes in, sometimes hysterically, throughout the movie), followed by a fabulous Lizzo number that sets the tone for our arrival in Barbieland.

Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie, in a role she was born to play) rises and shines in her Dreamhouse and begins her day with greetings from the multitude of Barbie citizens. Representing all walks of life, these Barbies (including Dr. Barbie played by trans actor Hari Nef) are selfsufficient wonders to behold.

In addition to the Barbies, Barbieland is populated with a veritable Ken smorgasbord, led by bleach blond and beachy Ken (Ryan Gosling and his abs and pecs). He’s as obsessed with Stereotypical Barbie as his best buddy Allan (Michael Cera at his deadpan best) is with him. His rival/buddy Kens include those played by Kingsley Ben-Adir and Simi Liu, to name a couple.

Life is good for Barbie as she tools around in her vintage pink and white Corvette, until it isn’t. To her dismay, she’s suddenly preoccupied with death and her tiptoed feet have gone flat.

Sent for guidance to Weird Barbie (scene-stealing queer actor Kate McKinnon), called that because she represents the Barbies abused by their human owners. In order to find the source of her trouble, at the risk of life and injectionmolded plastic limb, Barbie must venture into the real world. Unbeknownst to her, Ken, who can’t stand the thought of being apart from Barbie, tags along.

Unfortunately for both of them, Ken’s exposure to human males, ranging from the gay couple that cruises him at the beach to the Mattel CEO (played by Will Ferrell) has a negative impact on him. Before you know it, he’s a raging testosterone monster (funny for someone without testicles).

Meanwhile, Barbie discovers the source of her trouble – a kind of psychic link to the Mattel CEO’s depressed secretary Gloria (America Ferrera, whose female-empowering monologue is worth the price of admission) and her moody and super-smart daughter (Ariana Greenblatt) – leading to wacky pursuits and big dance numbers. There’s also a showdown, involving deprogramming, in Kendom (the temporarily rebranded Barbieland).

As with so many current movies, “Barbie” is at least 25 minutes too long, giving viewers the impression that Gerwig simply didn’t know when and how to end it. Regardless, anyone looking for an alternative to the testosterone-fueled mayhem of the latest “Mission: Impossible” and “Indiana Jones” flicks will find escapism with a message in “Barbie.” Rating: Bt www.warnerbros.com/movies/barbie

by David-Elijah Nahmod

For decades, GAPA Runway has celebrated queer and trans Asian Pacific Islander excellence with a dazzling pageant. According to Emmett Chen-Ran, the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance’s Production Chair, it all began in 1988 as an underground dance party at a time when queer Asians were not allowed into white LGBTQ spaces. Over the years it has grown into what it is today. On August 19, this year’s contestants will battle it out onstage at the Herbst Theatre for the title of Mr., Ms., or Mx. GAPA. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Chen-Ran explained how the Mx. title became part of the pageant.

“Before me, the show was structured in such a way that there were half Mr. contestants and half

Ms. contestants,” Chen-Ran said. “Almost all the Mr. contestants were cis men and almost all the Ms. contestants were cis men in drag. I was honestly shocked to find out that there were almost no

by Kyle Amato

Director Ira Sachs returns with another incisive character piece, though this one is far meaner than usual. “Passages” (MUBI) focuses on Tomas (Franz Rogowski), a narcissistic film director who, on a whim, decides to sleep with a woman named Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos) at his wrap party. Much to the chagrin of his husband Martin (Ben Whishaw), Tomas claims this evening has awakened something within him. Tomas feels inspired for the first time in ages and decides this one-night stand could be so much more, abandoning Martin and pursuing a relationship with Agathe.

“Passages” feels like a particularly nasty French New Wave film, but one with a gay relationship at the center. I am always interested in any gay narrative that isn’t about coming out of the closet, as queer life is far more than just the decision to tell straight people who we are.

Tomas views straight life as transgressive and is trying it on like a fun outfit, totally unconcerned with the people he’s hurting. The second Agathe starts to bore him or ask anything of him, Tomas goes right back to Martin and vice-versa. He cannot be sated by love, he needs the world to revolve around his happiness.

Rogowski makes this near-sociopathic man extremely compelling to watch, smooth and sensual enough that you believe his lovers would keep coming back to him despite his many flaws. His voice can go from a seductive whisper to a violent snarl in a moment, his body coiling like a snake ready to pounce.

Exarchopoulos and Whishaw are able to match Rogowski’s intensity while bringing different types of vulnerability to their roles. In many ways the film is a classic European marriage drama where jealous insults fly, sex is frequent, and dinners with the in-laws are made dreadfully awkward. Sachs is having too much fun indulging his acrid side for “Passages” to get too maudlin.

Though there is an explicit sex scene between Rogowski and Whishaw, the film is passionate and intimate, not gratuitous. The MPA’s recent decision to give the film an NC-17 rating is ridiculous and bordering on homophobic, a decision which MUBI is rightly ignoring. There is no re-editing this story to have less sex, and any attempts would diminish it.

“Passages” can be understood by a single character detail. Although Tomas lives and works in Paris, he still does not speak a word of French. He deals with this language barrier every day and does not seem interested in changing it, even when meeting Agathe’s very French parents.

“Passages” is the story of a man who is only interested in what benefits him, never what he can do to benefit others. Spending time with him is to root for his downfall, and what a time Ira Sachs has given us.t www.mubi.com experience, different gender presentations, different aesthetic styles, different talents,” Chen-Ran said. “It’s important to me that Runway showcases what being queer and Asian in 2023 looks like, so I really try to draw from all parts of the QTAPI (queer and transgender Asian Pacific Islander) community, because it’s really so much more diverse than you might imagine.” designated female at birth people in the history of the show who had competed.”

Chen-Ran feels that the kind of visibility that Runway offers is important, given the anti-Asian violence that the Asian community has been subjected to in recent years.

The people who ran the show before Chen-Ran had wanted to open it up to more than just Mr. and Ms. candidates, but they weren’t sure how to go about this. In 2021 Chen-Ran decided it was time and ran a long campaign with surveys and town halls to discuss and figure out what the best format for Runway should be.

“And we landed on no more Mr. and Ms. categories,” he said. “Everyone announces what honorific we should call them if they win and the two highest scorers win. Last year it happened that both winners had chosen Mx. as their honorific, and so the 2022 winners are the first two Mx. GAPAs ever.”

The first category that the contestants compete in is the “Theme Wear Parade,” which is an opening number where the outfits must reflect the show’s theme in some way. This year’s theme is “Into the Looking Glass.”

“We want the theme this year to be about introspection, reflection, looking within,” Chen-Ran said. “What’s a

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Open Daily! New Adjusted Hours theme that encapsulates that? And what are some of the visual elements that can represent that? A lot of people think it’s a reference to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ which it could definitely be interpreted in that way. But our intention is more like the scene in ‘Mulan’ when she’s looking at her reflection in the water.”

The contestants will also compete in a fantasy segment, which is where each contestant has two minutes to showcase a talent or fantasy. This is often the audience’s favorite part of the pageant because each contestant has such differing visions of what their fantasy looks like. This is followed by the evening wear/formal wear category. The pageant concludes with a Q & A segment in which queer Asian luminaries from the worlds of business, politics or entertainment ask the contestants a variety of questions. The contestants have to be on their toes and do some quick thinking in order to come up with good answers.

“I look for a diverse mix of people with different levels of performance

“It’s crazy to think that in a place like the Bay Area that has such a rich and diverse Asian presence that the mindless anti-Asian violence that peaked a couple of years ago even happened,” he said. “Awareness through arts, through advocacy, through just being loud and taking up space is so important for queer and trans Asian visibility. So I’m really proud to have Runway make a difference in advancing that visibility.”

And once the pageant winners are chosen, the new titleholders will find themselves in a very bright spotlight.

“The year of the titleholder’s reign is really what they make of it,” said Chen-Ran. “People have done everything from fundraisers to PR statements to going on tour. And that’s the beauty of being GAPA royalty, is that they’re able to harness the power of their new platform to spread any message or advocate for any cause that is important to them.”t

‘GAPA Runway 2023: Into the Looking Glass,’ Saturday August 19, 7pm, $40-$150, Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness Ave. www.gapa.org/ runway www.cityboxoffice.com

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