By all accounts, Greta Gerwig‘s “Barbie” measured up to critical and commercial expectations, with the film currently sitting at #3 in 2023’s overall box office with $811 million. But will it hit a billion dollars, like star/producer Margot Robbie plugged it to studios? It still could, even if its numbers dropped hard this week. And that drop-off may be due to the backlash “Barbie” has received from straight, white, Republican male audience members.
But Marc Maron is having none of the shit of that particular demographic. THR reports that the comedian and podcaster took to TikTok earlier this week to plug Gerwig’s hit film — and to bash its naysayers, ie: “certain men” who feel threatened by the film, going as far as to call them “f*cking insecure babies.” “I saw “Barbie” and I thought it was a f*cking masterpiece,” Maron said in the video. “And like, I don’t throw that word around lightly, but, Jesus Christ.”
“It’s like it does a fairly amazing thing to create a sort of broad-based entertainment product that applies to the entire spectrum,” Maron continued. “I think primarily of women. And then just seep it in progressive politics and basic feminism in a way that’s funny, informative and well-executed in a context that is completely engaging is fucking monumental.” Maron admitted that he wasn’t sure what to expect from “Barbie” initially, but found the film “intentionally, thoroughly explaining feminist ideas in a way that’s funny.”
Calling “Barbie” “monumental” and a “masterpiece” is high praise (and, to be honest, maybe too high) but Maron also had choice words for men who find the movie too “woke.” “The comedy about men is inspired and the fact that certain men took offense to the point where they, you know, tried to build a grift around it in terms of their narrative as right-wing **** is so embarrassing for them,” Maron said about the film’s male detractors. “I mean, so embarrassing for them. Any dude that can’t take those hits in that movie, they’ve really got to look in their pants and decide what they’re made of. I mean, Jesus Christ, what a bunch of f*cking insecure babies.”
All told, the “WTF With Marc Maron” host holds “Barbie” in the highest esteem. “It made me proud somehow,” he said as he praised the film’s humor, performances, and script. As for Gerwig, she’s held her own in the press against the negative response to her latest film. There’s certainly a lot of passion,” she told the New York Times about the backlash “Barbie” received from the likes of Ben Shapiro and other conservative commentators. “My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men,” the director continued. “I hope that in all of that passion, if they see it or engage with it, it can give them some of the relief that it gave other people.”
Unfortunately, there’s no relief for Shapiro and others out of sorts about “Barbie” and its message. But the rest of the world has spoken with its high turnout in theaters for the film. That’s what Gerwig and even Maron should focus on in this case. After all, the more attention one supplies “insecure babies,” the more they get riled up. “Barbie” is in theaters now.