The Barbie train is heating up with every passing day, and while I will continue milking this joke for as long as the world will let me, the Barbie/Oppenheimer box office clash is effectively no more; beyond Oppenheimer‘s heavy subject matter, the film’s R-rating will do it no favors in that particular bout.
This isn’t the case with Barbie, which seems all but determined to deliver an overwhelmingly delightful experience for everyone. As the recent trailer said; if you love Barbie, this movie is for you, and if you hate Barbie, this movie is for you. Indeed, its marked intentions combined with a godly creative team will no doubt rocket Barbie to the front of many a moviegoer’s blockbuster list this summer.
And when we say this movie is for everyone, we quite literally mean everyone; certainly if the words of one Alexandra Shipp — the talent behind Writer Barbie in the film — are to be heeded. In a recent interview with Interview Magazine, Shipp revealed that there was more than a bit of diversity at play in the world of Barbie Land, even if the spotlight will be on Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling most of the time.
“There’s the quintessential traditional Barbie and Ken hetero dynamic, but underneath that are so many bubbling, queer double entendres. It’s most certainly for everyone because there’s no scene, in my opinion, that would be inappropriate for a child to see.”
More importantly, however, Shipp wasn’t shy about quite colorfully telling potential audiences to check their prejudices at the door, so to speak.
“If you can’t say gay, stay the [expletive] out of the theater. I don’t want you coming to my movie. I can’t speak for anyone else, but as a queer woman who has queer people in her life that she loves—if I’ve had to watch a Prince Charming wake up Sleeping Beauty without consent my entire life, then I’m sure you can stand to go see a Barbie movie.”
You heard it here, folks; if you have a problem with people who look or love differently than you do, then maybe Barbie is for everyone but you.
Barbie is due in theaters on July 21.