Goldie's Fab Four #27

My highlights, recommendations and observations

Barbie (12A)

Funny. Clever. Wants to have it’s cake and eat it, by both skewering the patriarchy and selling more toys for Mattel. It does a (mostly) fine job. Greta Gerwig who directed and co-wrote the script pulls off a neat trick in bringing the heroine to life, contrasting her existence in the fictional Barbieland with the, ahem, less ideal situation of women in real life. As Barbie seeks to fight back against everyday sexism, the toy company boss (a star turn by Will Ferrell) literally wants to put her back in her box. If there’s a problem with the movie, it’s that the character of Barbie herself is a little, well, plastic. That’s no criticism of star Margot Robbie who is excellent, but like many a Hollywood superhero or heroine, Barbie’s lack of flaws extends beyond her perfect skin. She exists simply to defeat the baddies. Ryan Gosling’s ‘Ken’ on the other hand displays a vulnerable side that makes him the emotional winner. America Ferrera’s rant about patriarchy also feels heavy handed in a film otherwise graced with a light touch - although some viewers will no doubt be whooping and hollering in appreciation of her trenchant words. Maybe all this nit picking misses the point, anyway - Barbie is striking a resonant emotional chord with audiences up and down the land, providing both a great night out and - as a side dish to the popcorn - food for thought.

The Balsall Heath Bohemians; Stewart Lee Celebrates The Birmingham Surrealists

Who knew that Birmingham was the city where the European art movement popularised by the likes of Andrew Breton and Salvador Dali first took root? Not me, and I’ve lived in the city all my life. Stewart Lee tells the story in a typically shaggy dog style, accompanied by local art historian Ruth Millington, and latter day surrealist Cold War Steve, who was commissioned to create the image above to celebrate the programme. The epicentre of the movement was the then bohemian suburb of Balsall Heath where pioneering artist Conroy Maddox held wild parties in the 1930s and painted pictures of himself being crucified in the presence of nuns swigging M&B ale. Only the intervention of joyless council bureaucrats prevented him from recreating the scene in a city centre shop window. Programme producers True Thought even turned up one of the original Birmingham surrealists, Desmond Morris who later made a name for himself as a successful anthropologist, creating hit books and TV series such as ‘The Naked Ape’. This was a joy of a programme - both funny and enlightening.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0g4ngm9

General Public - All The Rage/Hand To Mouth

After enjoying huge success with British ska pioneers The Beat, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger headed off in a poppier direction with General Public, whose two albums ‘All The Rage’ and ‘Hand To Mouth’ have now been re-released by BMG. The band was generally overlooked in the UK, despite a ‘supergroup’ line-up which originally included Mick Jones of the Clash, along Dexys stalwarts Mickey Billingham and Stoker, as well as Horace Panter of The Specials. It was a different story in North America, which was just waking up to the Two Tone revolution. ‘All The Rage’ held down a place in the Billboard Album chart for 39 weeks and yielded a US Top 40 single in ‘Tenderness’. The sound is smoother, more keyboard-driven than The Beat, but Wakeling always had a great ear for a tune. His lyrics remained sharp, albeit without the political bite of his Beat days. It’s great to hear Roger’s toasting contributions too. The beat went on…even if we didn’t realise it at the time.

Cyder and Cobb, Rowley Regis (167, Halesowen Street, Blackheath)

There are plenty of pubs around the Blackheath/Rowley Regis area, but after a Friday night crawl I can confirm that none is more welcoming than this characterful micro bar that serves giant fresh cobs, and a range of ultra-strength ciders alongside the beer. More than anything, it has the air of being a labour of love. The walls are decorated with mementos of the much lamented local speedway team Cradley Heathens whose stadium was a couple of miles away. As Arnie once said, “I’ll be back”.