It is with extreme fervor and urgency that I list the following reasons the girls and the gays NEED to see the Barbie movie. Now that I have finally finished using my hot pink tennis dress to dry my tears, here it goes:
The costume design is nothing short of eye candy. Every character in every scene was wearing the most beautiful outfit you’ve ever seen, until you see the next scene for even more. The dazzling colors and designs made me feel like a baby watching one of those bouncing fruit enrichment videos. I could watch the whole movie on mute and be entertained just by the visuals.
The writing in this movie is brought to you by some of the most clever motherf*ckers out there. From laugh-out-loud dialogue to small moments (like Barbie taking a shower in her dreamhouse with no water), the whole movie stayed true to the realism of what Barbie world would actually be like. Turns out, it’s hilarious.
I had tie myself to the theater seat with my pink neck scarf to not stand up and join in the choreographed scenes. It was such a fabulous, fun, modern spin on disco that complimented the bubblegum pink pop music.
Just because I stayed in my seat doesn’t mean it stopped me from dancing to the soundtrack. Marc Ronson picked a powerhouse pack of performers for the original songs, but the addition of known songs like Indigo Girls’ ‘Closer To Fine’ really brought it together. Also, Lizzo’s singing narration made me wish that she could sing my thoughts in my head all day.
Kate McKinnon’s performance as Weird Barbie was a masterclass in physical comedy. The smallest twitch of her face made me laugh, let alone the fact that her leg was permanently hoisted around her head. In my mind, she solidified her place as one of the most underrated and definitely one of the funniest comedians of our generation.
Part of what made the movie so special was following along Barbie’s journey to understand what it means to be a woman in the “real world,” so I won’t ruin it for you. But, I will say every single woman in the theater was crying by the end. The film perfectly captured the nuances of womanhood. It’s not just a deep movie; it’s cavernous.
Throughout the movie, Barbie relics pop up everywhere. They shoutout discontinued dolls like Midge, the pregnant Barbie, and Sugar Daddy, an older Ken doll who was a father to his dog named Sugar. They even had Barbie herself make a cameo (look for her at the bus stop). The writers dug through the archives of Barbie to make references that were both delightful and nostalgic.
In recent years, Barbie has made significant efforts to represent all types of women, and the movie reflected that. While Margot Robbie’s Barbie was still thin, blonde, and beautiful, the film featured Barbies of all shapes, colors, sizes, and abilities. Though it’s never mentioned in the film, Hari Nef, a trans actress, is one of the featured Barbies.
I walked out of that theater feeling on top of the world. I wanted to hug every woman I passed and stop every girl on the street and tell them she is perfect but doesn’t need to be. Though Barbie and Ken’s relationship are a part of the movie, it’s not the *whole* movie. In fact, they make a point not to make it about their romantic relationship. It was a pretty pink reminder that as women, we are all on the same team.
Next to clapping about a plane lands, I think it’s cringe AF when people applaud in movie theaters, but after America Ferrera’s speech about what it’s like to be a woman, I clapped my hands raw. People were calling out “that’s right!” and “period!”. She put into words the frustration we all feel, and if she asked, I would go to war with her over it.
Everyone I went with, including myself, put on our best pinks, and when we showed up, we found out that everyone else had the same idea. The whole audience was dressed and ready to experience the movie as a collective. We laughed, we cried, we cheered, and for an hour and 54 minutes, we were all Barbie, together.
