Sarah: I have a truly hellacious cold so I cannot go to the movies this weekend. (I sound so bad that someone thanked me for wearing a mask when they heard my voice. It’s gruesome.)
However, I am SO CURIOUS about the Barbie movie!
Seeing pictures of so many people dressed up to go see this film has been a freaking delight.
But Amanda got to see if opening weekend, as did many, many other people (YAY) so I asked Amanda very politely if she’d tell me everything.
So: how was it?! And, important follow up: was it worth going on opening weekend?
Amanda: Yes, hi, hello! I am your woman on the ground for your Barbie needs.
Sarah: Would you say you are a…Barbie girl?
Amanda: In a Barbie world. For sure.
For the most part, I really liked it and would rate it 4 out of 5 stars if we’re playing Siskel & Ebert. Or were those thumbs? It’s been so long.
I went on Friday and the theater was pretty packed. I did my nails especially for the occasion.
Having a full theater was something I hadn’t experienced since the pandemic, as most of my movie outings have been off times, after opening weeks, or just for small indie movies.
I’d say the experience, for me, was cathartic. While I audibly snorted with laughter at parts
There were also moments when I could not get the tears to stop. I think it’s one of those movies that I’ve rarely found in my own film-watching experience that states so openly and plainly the ways in which women are held to impossible standards. There are no metaphors here. It’s vocalized pretty loudly.
Sarah: Seeing the marketing tie-in campaigns (including Google’s) and my gosh EVEN a FABRIC line (of course fabric lines) and shoes and rugs…I’m into it. Usually when there’s total saturation marketing I get tired of whatever is being advertised, but not here. Oh, my goodness. It’s fun watching people have fun and marking being clever. Did the marketing make an impression on you?
Amanda: I’ll admit, I’m not a big Greta Gerwig fan. When it was announced that she was directing, I was very curious at what type of Barbie movie we’d get. The trailers and sneak peeks definitely provided a clear sense of what I was getting.
I also did buy a shirt from one of my favorite cinephile brands. A cutesy design with a dose of existential dread is my vibe.
Sarah: Were people dressed up at your screening?
Amanda: Yes! Groups of people were dressed up in all sorts of pink or Barbie themed attire. Many people were taking photos and selfies in the lobby afterward. I think everyone who attended my screening had a great time (except for that one person who had an alarm keep going off…SILENCE YOUR PHONES PEOPLE).
Sarah: I’ve been reading what people are saying after they see the movie and WOW that has also made me extremely excited. I have seen discussions that talk about how it is a critique of heteronormativity and of societal rules that don’t fit people and in some ways a critique of gendered expectations and of gender itself. Do you agree?
Amanda: Yes, I would. The movie is one big commentary on how the patriarchy hurts everyone.
My biggest critique is that the intersectional messaging wasn’t as overt as it was for cis women. Yes, they had a transwoman play Doctor Barbie and the Kens eventually learn that the alpha male stereotype stifles their emotional expression. However, there is still a focus on genitalia and motherhood during some scenes. I also recognize a two-hour movie can only do so much and Mattel also has a say in what’s depicted and communicated. One piece of media can’t do everything.
Still an enjoyable experience overall and a B+ from me! And yes, Ken’s climactic musical number is already available on Spotify.
Sarah: One last question: which Barbie are you? Or were you several different Barbies?
Amanda: I loved Weird Barbie and also Allan, so maybe a mix of those two. No shade to the other Barbies but being say President Barbie or Journalist Barbie seems exhausting.
What about you?
I would love to know what you think of the Barbie movie (see below for instructions on how to hide spoilers)! Have you seen all these pictures of people dressed up, including as different eras of Barbie? Oooh ooh – did you dress up? What did you think?
Important: instructions for spoiler tags in the comments!
Frame your Spoilery Words between these two tags, lower case, Minus the Asterisks:
[*spoiler*] Spoilers Go Here! [*/spoiler*]
That will hide your words with a click-to-drop-down option to read. Thank you for your time and attention to making sure everyone has a good time with as much or as little spoiler info as they want!
My daughter saw the Barbie movie in South Korea where she lives. She enjoyed it, but said she was often the only person laughing. The movie was subtitled in Korean but humor is often difficult to translate.
Testing the spoiler feature:
I’ve been waiting for y’all to write about this movie! I saw a matinee show of it on Friday (cheaper tickets + fewer people in the theater = WIN!) and now I’m bugging all of my coworkers and friends who’ve expressed wanting to see it to do so I can talk about it. It had me choked up a bit at parts and triumphant at parts and a lot of the songs were great and it was visually gorgeous, so I’m just going to forgive this very personal attack on myself:
I can’t wait to see it again.
Also, as an 80s baby/90s kid, I’m fully here for the 80s/90s Barbie-inspired outfits Margot Robbie has been rocking at the premieres. Earring Magic Barbie has been a particular favorite.
My local public library got in on the Barbie meme-ing via their FB page and I’ve been spamming everyone with it. (Did YOU bring your library card?)
Also:
@SB Sarah:
I hope you feel better soon so you can go enjoy Barbie in the theater!
It was so fun! There was a point towards the end where the entire theater was laughing for about five minutes straight at the sheer awesome over-the-top ridiculousness of it all. Ryan Gosling was comedy GOLD as Ken and really makes the movie prime re-watch material.
The movie was skating a thin line between Mattel and an anti-patriarchy message, and really Mattel bent a LOT further than I thought they would have. Though there was one child in the audience, it’s actually an amazing accomplishment that this is not a movie marketed to children.
@Virtual Light: That’s why I have been telling people who ask that it’s not a movie for younger kids. I really felt while watching it that this movie was made for us – the adults, who grew up with Barbie as girls in the 80s or 90s (or earlier). The kids have a ton of animated Barbie movies they can watch. Let us grownups have our Barbie movie. 🙂 When I went, there were a few kids in the audience, but most of the attendees were groups of teenage girls and women.
I love how you can know on sight that someone is going to see Barbie – they’re wearing pink.
I saw it with my daughter on the opening night. I was somewhat reluctant in spite of my admiration for Greta Gerwig, but I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it! I hope it prompts discussion about patriarchy without getting too many weirdo politicians involved. Virtual Light – I 100% agree with your comments!
I don’t know what it was like in the rest of the country, but in Oslo (Norway), most of the Barbie (and Oppenheimer) screenings were completely sold out. The multiplex where I saw both films – Oppenheimer first, then Barbie – had gone all out. There was a pink carpet, a giant flamingo pool float, all sorts of other pink and sparky pool toys, a big Barbie box you could be photographed inside, a giant pink balloon arch to take selfies under, most of the staff wearing pink blazers or scarves or hair accessories. So much pink and sparkly stuff everywhere. The popcorn buckets had pictures of Margot Robbie’s Barbie and Ryan Gosling’s Ken.
There were a LOT of pink-clad people everywhere. I literally own two items of pink clothing (a tunic and some leggings) and naturally had to wear both of them.
I loved the film, but would agree that it’s probably a four out of five stars. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling were breathtakingly perfect throughout, I’m not surprised Kate McKinnon was hilarious, but I hadn’t expected Michael Cera as Allan to be so funny too. America Ferrera was great too, and I suspect I cried a lot more watching this movie now than I would have before I became a mother myself. I laughed so hard that it occasionally hurt, and I cried in parts. I do wish some of the minor Barbies and Kens would have gotten a bit more to do, with a lot of them, it’s literally a blink or you’ll miss it appearance – but the film couldn’t really be any longer (hoping they might make little YouTube features about some of them, though).
Heather S., re your first spoiler comment above, my partner and friends and I were all dying laughing at that bit too. So clever.
SB Sarah, it was really excellent and I am sure you will enjoy it when you are up for seeing it! Take care!
Honestly the impeccable song and dance numbers really made the movie for me – all the Barbies and Kens are dancers, apparently because Gerwig wanted the dolls to hold themselves with the poise dancers have. I just watched the (non-spoilery) EW “Around the Table” video with Gerwig and 6 of the actors, which discussed the workmanship and deep thoughtfulness that went into the film.
I went to a gala premiere that went all out. That was a great experience but so was the movie. Can’t wait to see it again. Would like to have all or part of Gloria’s monologue on a shirt or poster. Couldn’t believe the excellence of the performances.
I saw it yesterday in a crowd of little girls and their dads in matching pink. I went with my pink hair. I love the quirky characters, so Weird Barbie and Allan (Kate McKinnon and Michael Cera) were favorites, but esp. Allan. Shout out to Helen Mirren for narration (and breaking 4th wall). But if you’re a mom, America Ferrera’s role is who I ended up seeing the movie through. And HER speech will be used by budding actresses for years to come. Also, I balled at the end when Ruth (Rhea Perlman) said
I loved it – went with my daughter and her friends on opening night (all dressed up in pink), and found exactly what I’d been hoping for once I learned Gerwig was directing: intelligent, full of heart (I definitely cried, and so did the 20-30 year olds with me), self-deprecatingly funny and containing ideas that linger. There was one line that produced a snort throughout the theatre:
If you loved Ladybird, or smart films about women, you’ll like Barbie.
I love the men saying Barbie is man hating when the ENTIRE joke is they treat the Kens the same way actual human women are treated
I enjoyed Barbie even more than I thought I would. My fellow theater goers added an additional layer of appreciation. There was another early laugher in the audience, which was nice. And oh, how I laughed!
I sat next to a mother who brought younger people along. One tween asked, “Mommy, are you okay?” as her mom quietly cried during a particularly powerful scene. I cried even more after hearing that question asked.
@Elyse
I’ve been reading reviews over at Rotten Tomatoes, and would love to know what proportion of male writers mentioned Ken’s lack of genitals. No reviewer of any gender (that I’ve seen) mentions Barbie’s lack of genitals, though both characters mention it in the same scene. Strange obsession …
@Elyse – I’d say the Barbies treat Kens BETTER than human women are treated in our world. No Kens are assaulted, killed, or not allowed control over their bodies.
I am looking forward to seeing it again because I’m sure I missed a ton of details — all that crying, haha. My daughter gave me the biggest hug as we walked out of the theater.
I identified so hard with America Ferrera’s character, down to the Duolingo-practicing husband! That the likes of Ted Cruz and Matt Gaetz’s wife (!) disliked it just makes it even better if that’s possible.
The only thing that gives me pause is the possibility of a Mattel cinematic universe after this success, ha!
Thank you for this post, SB! I was wondering if you were going to cover it.
Unfortunately, the nearest movie theater is 45 minutes away, and I don’t drive. So I’m waiting for it to come out on Blu-ray. (We’re planning a small viewing party, and I’m making a white cake with pink frosting and pink sprinkles.)
I haven’t seen Greta Gerwig’s version of ‘Little Women’ yet. That’ll have to tide me over in the meantime.
Here’s a perspective from a woman who was eight when Barbie was first sold. That would make me one of the oldest members of this community who grew up with Barbie. Anyone 2-3 years older than I was would have probably moved on from dolls in 1959. So, Barbie and I have known about each other for oops! over 60 years.
I loved the movie. My husband went with me, a bit reluctantly, but he was hoping to pull a Barbenheimer. Alas, Oppenheimer was sold out next. So how did a man who had no daughters react? He liked it. We’ve had more than one discussion about it: how little girls looked to Barbie for inspiration; how women can be more now than they could when we were young. Alas I think America Ferrera’s speech (I almost cried) went a bit over his head, but he stuck in there and I can guarantee he’ll be bragging to his buds that he went to see Barbie of his own accord.
I still have my original Barbies, and though they aren’t as weird as Weird Barbie, they were played with and loved. I made clothes for them. I still have the kitchen and the convertible, although over time, it’s more orange than pink.
And while the dancing and the ending and in between were great, let’s hear it for the beginning as well. As a boomer baby, how true.
I was hoping to see Barbie last night, but I live in southwest Arizona and it was too hot for me to leave the house again when I got home. I was drained, but hope to go soon.
I saw Oppenheimer on Saturday and wore one of my fuchsia handbags. I was jealous of all the people going to see Barbie. They were all wearing at least one pink item of clothing and they were all joyous. It didn’t matter what gender they were (there were a lot of men). There was every shade of pink and jubilation.
I’m a gen x girl who loved her many Barbies and fuchsia has been my favorite color forever. I feel like the world has caught up to me.
BTW, I did like Oppenheimer. It’s a story that needed telling and was thought provoking, but heavy in the way The Imitation Game was with the protagonists being used
up and discarded once their people got what they needed from them.