The Barbie Movie review no one asked me to write.

I took my mom to see that Barbie movie last night. After all, she was my co-conspirator during the Barbie collecting days. And we both walked away completely unsure about how we felt:

The Will Ferrell humor felt misplaced.
The patriarchy plot was ....I don't know, just not what I expected.
The cameos were great but so much more could have been done with them.
The tongue-in-cheek awareness of capitalism was necessary but trying too hard
The gender binary of the whole thing was so overt

That being said, we were both glad we saw it.

I did love America Ferrara's rant in the middle and will happily quote it for the next two dozen years.
Anything that has Indigo Girls music is better for its inclusion.
Michael Cera and Kate McKinnon were hands down the best characters and the best parts of the movie
Rhea Perlman was perfectly cast in her role

I don't want to rant about how it wasn't the movie I wanted them to make, because I don't have that power. But at the end of the day, I guess I'm surprised at how popular it is because aside from women almost exactly my age, I'm not totally sure to whom the movie is intended to appeal. The marketing train has worked.

And I'm not sad I bought "Welcome to the Dreamhouse" Barbie pink sparkly nail polish.

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