slo’s TUESDAY 2/27 poll - The Barbie Movie 💕

[BrianL]

The thing about "snubs" is that there are only so many people that can get nominated. If there are that many other great performances, then someone has to get left out. Who on the list is not deserving? It's based on votes, and it is what it is.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I saw Barbie in theaters and watched it again back in December during a flight. While I did not love the Ken character and the I'm Just Ken song was cheesy, the movie as a whole really resonated with me and my girls. While we did a double feature in theaters, we didn't do the whole Barbenheimer thing. We actually paired it with Haunted Mansion In any event, it moved me to tears several times and I had quite a few YES moments. I wasn't even into Barbie as a kid. I had two and I turned them into Weird Barbie! The move just hit on so many issues as a woman that hit home for me and I really appreciated the overall idea/concept for the storyline. It almost felt like it was telling me why I never latched on to Barbie dolls...like she was too perfect and not a true reflection of the real world. All in all, I disagree with the snub but was happy to see the nom for America Ferrera.

 

[iivye]

I wasn't a fan of the movie. I tried watching it twice and both time I just couldn't finish it.

 

[1420Elexismc]

I didn't really have any interest in seeing it. Funny story: My family and I went to see Elementals the same weekend Oppenheimer opened-well I saw all these people dressed in pink and was thinking "odd that they would all be dressed up for Oppenheimer-was that something I missed being a thing?" realized once I got into the theaters that they were-in fact there for the Barbie movie *face palm*

 

[NYCgrrl]

Barbie was never a part of my life so not that hot to trot out to see the movie. Still, it’s had interesting reviews so when it hits Prime Video and is free, I’ll watch it.

 

[3rd_time_the_charm]

I cried the whole movie. Maybe because Barbie was huge as an 80s child or because DD is 12, but the underlying you can be anything even as a girl struck gold. When Barbie sees the old lady on the bench, it tore me up.

This was not just a cute movie. It was quite powerful if you paid attention.

 

[CynBeth]

I have not seen it no interest.

 

[fla4fun]

I haven’t seen it yet, or any of the other movies that were nominated. I usually wait for them to come out on DVD as I hate the whole theater crowd experience. I agree with the PP who said there are limits to how many films and performances can be nominated. It may be that Barbie was very close to nomination in some categories, but we will never know. There were a lot of movies over the years that I still enjoy that weren’t nominated for Oscars, and many that were nominated that I dislike. So I won’t let the lack of a nomination keep me from seeing it at some point.

 

[spewey]

My wife and I were really looking forward to it, as we are both big Greta Gerwig (director/co-writer) and Noah Baumbach (co-writer) fans. They are very well-regarded mainstream filmmakers who have made a lot of great stuff. And she's been nominated for Best Director in the past.

But honestly ... we thought it was a bit of a slog. Went for thought-provoking, landed on pedantic at times. My DD (16) loved it though, and she's got pretty good taste, so what do I know.

The "snub" discussion, however, is a little off-putting to me. First of all, how can Margot Robbie not being nominated for actress be seen as misogynistic? Some people have actually said that - aren't they aware all of the nominees are also women? (Besides, to me if anyone but Sandra Huller - maybe the finest actor working in film today - wins, it will be an outrage. She starred in what I think are clearly the best two movies made last year).

As to Best Director - it is true women have rarely been nominated over the years, primarily due to them not having access to that position. That has begun to change, fortunately, and we should see more and more nominated in the future. But to focus solely on Barbie and Gerwig being looked over is such a disservice to all of the other amazing talented women making interesting, challenging films around the world. Two of the Best Picture nominees were directed by women - Anatomy of a Fall (fantastic picture) and Past Lives, and several more could have been (in my Top 10 of the year I have "Bottoms" and "How to Have Sex", both written and directed by women, but not Barbie).

IMHO - and I agree, the Oscars are hardly the benchmark of quality - the one obvious snub is the lack of any consideration for "All of Us Strangers", which should have received noms for Best Picture, Actor and Supporting Actor. That it was completely overlooked was not only a mistake, but also puzzling, as the themes (acceptance, struggle, etc) usually appeal to the Academy.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Haven't seen it, but will at some point -- it's on my list.

This is the first year I've actually seen a number of films that were nominated for the BAFTAs - Oppenheimer and Napoleon (I think that one was for CGI) come to mind. Haven't paid any attention to the Oscar nominees.

 

[MIGrandma]

I didn’t see it. No interest in it. Seeing the previews for it did not make me want to see it.
I loved my Barbie dolls, played with them from age 5 until 14. Still have them.

 

[E&Cmom]

I saw it a few months ago on Crave and really liked it. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would but can’t say it was my favourite movie. I haven’t seen the other Oscar movies I have seen except Maestro so I don’t really have opinion on the snub. The Ken song is just ok to me. I love Billie Eilish‘s song from Barbie “ What was I made for”a lot more and have it on repeat on Spotify.


ETA I was a big Barbie fan as a child.

 

[princesscinderella]

I loved the movie, I bought it on DVD just so I could always have a physical copy if I can't find it on streaming. I didn't love Ryan Gosling as Ken, the too blond hair just looked weird on him to me. Weird Barbie was my favorite as we always cut our barbie's hair since my mom was a hairdresser and we wanted to be like her, but they are not meant for haircuts with the big plugs of hair.

 

[jimmymc]

I saw it in theaters, admittedly on $5 Tuesdays a few weeks after it came out. I thought it was good and had a nice message, even though they kind of punch you in the face with it at the end. I'm in no hurry to see it again, and I think it got the appropriate Oscar nominations. It definitely wasn't the best movie of the year.

 

[jo-jo]

I saw the cliff notes version. My DGDs zipped thru the movie, stopped here and there for a scene or song. 2 hour movie in 12 mins.

 

[Micca]

I'll watch it if it pops up on one of the many streaming platforms I subscribe to, not keen on otherwise pursuing it.

 

[spewey]

Somewhat, but maybe not, off-topic is that 2023 has been regarded as a really, really good year for films worldwide. IMHO the makers of Barbie (ie Margot Robbie) should be thrilled they were nominated for Best Picture - they're in great company.

Not intentionally at all, my wife and I ended up seeing all 10 of the BP nominees. We've started walking down to the closest cinema every Saturday for a matinee, and this particular theatre just so happens to show more of the "prestige" films. I liked all of them, and thought a few were outstanding - Zone of Interest, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Poor Things, Killer of the Flower Moon, to name a few. "Past Lives" and "Barbie" I would have passed over for others (particularly "All of Us Strangers") but that's not to say they were bad movies.

 

[elgerber]

I saw it, twice in theaters, I own it, and I am stupidly excited to see Gosling perform at the Oscars!

 

[Tink-osophy]

I haven't seen it yet. I'll watch it when it's more easily available.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I liked it, I thought it was cute.