Breaking Down the Hollywood Discourse Surrounding the ‘Barbie’ Movie

Oppenheimer could also be about an atomic bomb, however Barbie’s the film inflicting a popular culture explosion.

“My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men,” director Greta Gerwig instructed The New York Times in an interview revealed on Tuesday, July 25.

The highly-anticipated movie — which was launched on July 21 and stars Margot Robbie as the titular character alongside Ryan Gosling as Ken — raked in in $162 million on opening weekend. The satirical comedy bested Oppenheimer almost twice-over.

The film facilities on Barbie and Ken as they depart the security of Barbie World following an existential disaster — “Do you ever think about dying?” Barbie asks her fellow dolls on the dance ground — and head into the unknown of the actual world. It’s a movie about identification, breaking limitations and questioning the bins society locations us in.

While almost all of Tinseltown has been decked out in pink even previous to the movie’s launch, not everyone seems to be on board with a few of the film’s progressive themes — and the haters have made their criticism identified.

Keep scrolling for the Hollywood discourse on Barbie:

The Stans

Jenna Bush Hager was brazenly “weeping” whereas taking daughter Poppy to see the Barbie film. The Today With Hoda & Jenna cohost praised the movie for its humanistic themes, noting on Tuesday, July 25, that the film confirmed “what it means to be human, what it means to be a woman, what it means to be a mother, all of those things.”

Eva Mendes, in the meantime, couldn’t wait to gush about Gosling as Ken, whom she referred to as “Mi Hombre, Mi Vida, Mi Amor” in an effusive Instagram submit earlier this month praising her longtime accomplice in the position. Mendes opted to cite Gerwig’s commentary to Rolling Stone, through which she hailed Gosling’s efficiency as “some combination of Marlon Brando meets Gene Wilder meets John Barrymore meets John Travolta.”

Even Amy Schumer — who was initially solid as Barbie in the venture earlier than the movie and its manufacturing went in a distinct route — had nothing however good issues to say about the movie.

“Really enjoyed Barbie and Oppenheimer but I think I should have played Emily Blunt‘s role [in Oppenheimer],” she quipped through Twitter on Monday, July 24.

The Barbie-Burning Backlash

For all of the worldwide Barbie love, the film was additionally met with drama — with some critiques extra professional than others.

Robbie joked to People on the day of the film’s launch that her pals had been horrified that she didn’t lock lips with Gosling at any half in the movie.

“All of my girlfriends were like, ‘Well you did a whole movie with him and you don’t kiss? What’s wrong with you?’ I thought you were kind of in charge on this one!’” she quipped.

Robbie’s pals’ lighthearted humor, nevertheless, was no match for males in energy who derided movie’s feminist themes and political undertones. Sen. Ted Cruz referred to as the film “propaganda,” whereas controversial political commentator Ben Shapiro lambasted Barbie as a “flaming garbage heap” and criticized its “woke” narrative. He additionally shared a YouTube video of his ideas titled, “Ben Shapiro DESTROYS The Barbie Movie for 43 Minutes,” through which he destroyed Barbie and Ken dolls by setting them ablaze.

The Defenders

Whoopi Goldberg, for her half, was having none of it when discussing Cruz and Shapiro’s commentary on The View.

“It’s a movie! It’s a movie about a doll!” Goldberg, 67, declared. “I thought y’all would be happy. [Barbie] has no genitalia, so there’s no sex involved. Ken has no genitalia, so he can’t — it’s a doll movie!”

Her View cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin, in the meantime, slammed the males for feeling “emasculated” by the film.

The Fashion, Because Pink Is the New Pink

Forget any of the naysayers — if Barbie managed to get one factor proper, it’s the vogue. (And not simply in the movie, although it wouldn’t shock Us if costume designer Jacqueline Durran was headed for an additional Oscar.) At each pink carpet occasion selling the film Robbie was decked out in variations of precise Barbie outfits by way of the years — and each movie-goer adopted go well with.

Kim and Khloé Kardashian rocked the doll’s signature shade whereas taking their daughters and nieces to the World of Barbie Experience in Los Angeles in early July; Kourtney Kardashian opted for decent pink jorts when seeing the movie. Bush Hager, 41, sported a pink sweater at the films whereas watching Barbie together with her 7-year-old daughter, who wore Barbie shorts for the event.

Gerwig, for one, was in awe of the attain of the movie — and its vogue. “It’s been amazing to walk around and see people in pink,” she instructed The New York Times. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine something like this.”

The Music

Not solely is the Barbie soundtrack so stacked with expertise we don’t even know the place to start — see: Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice‘s “Barbie World,” Lizzo‘s “Pink,” Dua Lipa‘s “Dance the Night and many more — Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” is the powerhouse efficiency that everybody can’t cease speaking about.

“He has a beautiful voice, and he’s a beautiful dancer. We got there organically,” Gerwig instructed Rolling Stone on Wednesday, July 25, when explaining how she managed to get the former Mickey Mouse Club member to really showcase his singing chops in the movie. “I think if I had said, ‘I want you to sing and dance in this movie,’ he would not have necessarily done that for me. But it was kind of that thing of boiling a lobster. I think by the time he was singing and dancing, he didn’t even totally know how we had gotten there. But he’s so fabulous at it.”

Meanwhile, the scene of all of the Kens singing Matchbox 20’s “Push” to the Barbies on the seaside? Iconic. Even MB20 frontman Rob Thomas was right here for it — regardless that he thought the band can be the “butt of the joke” at first.

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“I want to preface this by saying I thought it was hilarious,” the musician instructed USA Today, including that Gerwig is “one of my crushes forever.”