Barbie may have cracked the wrong joke.
The blockbuster, which is expected to gross $1 billion this week at global box offices, was released earlier this month to positive reviews from crowds and critics. The movie received five stars from The Independent, which called it "a near miraculous achievement."
The movie's co-writers are director Greta Gerwig and her husband, writer/producer Noah Baumbach. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling star as the principal actors.
Many of the movie's hilarious moments feature Ryan Gosling's portrayal of Ken, but one joke featuring Barbie left a foul taste in the mouths of many viewers.
When Barbie returns to Barbieland and learns the Kens have taken over, she is experiencing an existential crisis when the joke is cracked.
At the home of "weird" Barbie (Kate McKinnon), she breaks down in tears as she addresses the human character Gloria (America Ferrera) and says, "I’m not pretty anymore. I’m not ‘stereotypical Barbie’ pretty."
Here, the narrator (Helen Mirren) narrates, "Note to the filmmakers: Margot Robbie is the wrong person to cast if you want to make this point."
Many people who, despite their disappointment with the joke, nonetheless seem to have loved the movie are venting their fury on social media. They are expressing their opinions in answer to a question posted by @PopBase, asking: "What was your favourite part of #Barbie?”, in which one fan namechecked this narration highlighting Robbie’s looks.
"I actually hated that and it made the scene less impactful to me," one person wrote in disagreement, with another adding: "Literally THE worst moment in the film. horrifically unfunny and pathetically self-apologetic. self-awareness doesn’t make the choice any better."
An additional viewer joined, "This was the only part of the movie I would have changed actually. Just because someone is gorgeous doesn’t mean they can’t FEEL unpretty."