Barbie!

[Prrambulate]

Who’s watching this? I think it’s going to have a massive opening week in the UK.

I’m so intrigued. At once a very subversive film, penned by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach; on another level, a film so heavily marketed that it seems to have entered the cultural mainstream. I wonder how it will straddle those tensions.

@OneFrenchEgg it's because in Barbie's previous world there was no ageing, so she'd never been told that getting older was something shameful. She sees the old lady on the bench and gasps at the kind of beauty she hasn't seen before.

I thought the horse imagery was very funny and very American. When I think of horses I think of Princess Anne and Pony Club type things not wild stallions. 🤣

I also loved the Duolingo reference.

I’ve seen it twice now and loved it even more the second time.

Thanks to the pp who posted the Time article about all the cultural references.
I picked up on quite a few the first time round but I enjoyed seeing and understanding more of them on the second go.
Proustian Barbie, the Jack Snyder cut and the Godfather/Godfather, and Monty Python horse riding being a few of my favourites.

I can’t stop thinking about how they made Ken fall through the sky when he hit the plastic wave, exactly how as kids you made toys do massive hyperbolic falls when you played with them.

I loved “horses are men extenders” and Allan going nuts and screaming “anyone want a little more Al?”. Also, “it’s a DREAM house, mother*ers” made my DD’s jaw drop, I don’t think she’s ever been so shocked at anything!

I was a bit bored and underwhelmed.
I say that as someone who LOVED Barbie as a kid, and who still loves all things pink and sparkly.
The plot was just a bit daft really.
Very clever marketing. I don't ever remember having Chanel accessories for my Barbies!

I did like the message that women can do what they want AND look good doing it, if that's what they want.
The stick aimed at women every year on the Mumsnet the Apprentice thread. So much criticism for daring to have heels on, or fake lashes, or long blonde hair.

I loved the Indigo Girls song showing up, and the Birkenstocks. Beautiful references to lesbian feminists that would have gone over a lot of heads.

I love it. I laughed and cried and was sad when it finished. My teenaged boys went with a big group of their friends and loved it as well.

I hated this film, was so disappointed, didn't find it funny and was bored, nearly walked out after an hour but thought it must get better, it didn't it got worse. Don't know what I was expecting but it was just ridiculous.

Maybe should not have seen it after Oppenheimer, that had hurt my brain, really had to concentrate to follow it and thought Barbie would have been light relief.

I know completely different films and not same target market and I couldn't sit through either film again. But that's only because Oppenheimer has to be seen on a imax screen, a normal screen or tv will not have the same impact.

And the bloke from Vera!

Are Indigo Girls Lesbian? They never said & hated people speculating about their private lives.

Can't think of a single song they wrote that was explicitly "feminist" either.

ah... I see in recent years Ray & Saliers are saying publicly they are gay. So that's new to me.

Umm, yes.

And Sophie from Two Doors Down. Dread to think what Christine would have to say about it 😂

All this time she thought Sophie was in a council flat in North Wales! 😂

Has Clare from Derry Girls been mentioned yet?

Uncle Bryn was the one who surprised me the most though.

Uncle Bryn was the one who surprised me the most though.
Yes Uncle Bryn and his one line!

Yeah, sure, Bryn, we all totally believe the dog is called Sugar

Has Clare from Derry Girls been mentioned yet?

Aah, I know her as Penelope from Bridgerton.

Anyone spotted the director of "A promising young woman" as Midge?

I went with dd and we thought it was overall good fun. Poking fun at stereotypes, the patriarchy and the idea of Barbie Land.

Emma Mackey of Sex Education was supposedly cast with Margot Robbie, as they are supposedly meant to be lookalikes, but you can see that they don't lookalike at all especially with different colour hair.

Anyone spotted the director of "A promising young woman" as Midge?

Yep, although I thought of her as Patsy from Call the Midwife.

Have just come back from a 2nd viewing and now think the end is very 'off', as well as the montage that came before it, focusing on Motherhood.
Still love the rest of it though

I really enjoyed it. I went with DD and surprisingly DS wanted to join us

DD told me the lady on the bench was the inspiration for Barbie ?!? Something like that

It made me laugh and cry and I don't object to sentiment, cheesy lines and existential crisis

I think DD got confused with Carla from cheers as the person who invented Barbie

Lady on bench is just a friend of GG

I absolutely bloody adored this. Laughed so hard at Ken’s Nickelback inspired strum I nearly strained something, and generally found it incredibly smart and entertaining.

It was great...loved it. Would have liked to see some more example of older women in the real world being pushed aside/ ignored by the men in favour of Barbie types though.
I wonder if Mattel would consider a perimenopausal Barbie complete with hrt patches and a fan?! Doubt it would sell tbh.