Barbie continues to earn at the box office and is already one of the biggest films of the year, but Bill Maher was not happy during his showing of the film.
Maher not happy with “preachy” tones of the movie
Taking to social media on Monday, the Real Time with Bill Maher host shared a lengthy review of the film, which he called “man-hating” and “a zombie lie.”
“I was hoping it wouldn’t be preachy, man-hating, and a #ZombieLie – alas, it was all three,” Maher said in a tweet. “What is a Zombie Lie? Something that never was true, but certain people refuse to stop saying it (tax cuts for the rich increase revenues, e.g.); OR something that USED to be true but no longer is, but certain people pretend it’s still true. ‘Barbie’ is this kind of #ZombieLie.”
Maher went on to list his main criticisms of the film, namely that it doesn’t reflect the real-world Mattel board accurately (the real board has 7 men and 5 women, while the film features 12 men). Maher also didn’t like how the Barbies in the film distract the Kens by pretending to be helpless, something Maher claims is not indicative of the times.
“At one point the Barbies have to win over the Kens, and they are told to do it by pretending to act helpless and not know how to do stuff,” Maher said. “Helen Gurley Brown called, she wants her premise back. Yes, that WAS a thing. I saw Barbie with a woman in her 30s who said, ‘I don’t know a single woman of any age who would act like that today.’”
Maher ended his critique by saying he enjoyed the movie but would still call it a “zombie lie,” adding that blaming things on the patriarchy is “so old and so silly.”
“I know, I know, ‘How could I know about the patriarchy, I AM a man!,’ he added. “That argument is so old and so silly. Of course, none of us can know exactly what others go through life, but I can see the world around me, and I can read data. The real Mattel board is a pretty close mirror of the country, where 45% of the 449 board seats filled last year in Fortune 500 companies were women. Truth is, I’m not the one who’s out of step – I’m living in the year we’re living in. Barbie is fun, I enjoyed it – but it IS a #ZombieLie. And people who don’t go along with zombie lies did not take some red pill – just staying true to CURRENT reality. Let’s live in the year we’re living in!”
Maher’s criticisms join a small group of people who have taken issue with the movie, including conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro. Despite some not enjoying the film, Barbie has continued to amass popularity, currently passing over $1 billion at the global box office.
