Warning, spoilers ahead.
Barbie ends on a high note as an unashamed Barbie (Margot Robbie) puts her reproductive health first. “I’m here to see my gynecologist,†our now-human titular character says in a business-casual outfit that dupes the audience into thinking she’s interviewing for a job or headed to her first day of community college, not going to a doctor’s appointment. “With this film, it was important for me that everything operated on at least two levels,†director Greta Gerwig told USA Today on her thought process while writing the last line. “I knew I wanted to end on a mic-drop kind of joke, but I also find it very emotional. When I was a teenage girl, I remember growing up and being embarrassed about my body, and just feeling ashamed in a way that I couldn’t even describe. It felt like everything had to be hidden.†The line comes after Barbie recovered from a depressive episode that saw her dealing with recurring thoughts about death, ventured into the real world, and saw just how crusty our patriarchy is. Instead of choosing to go back to the Garden of Eden that is the woman-run Barbieland, the doll chooses humanity when she realizes that emotions and cellulite aren’t something to fear. Brave!
“To see Margot as Barbie, with this big old smile on her face, saying what she says at the end with such happiness and joy,†Gerwig continued. “I was like, if I can give girls that feeling of ‘Barbie does it, too’ — that’s both funny and emotional. There are so many things like that throughout the movie. It was always about looking for the levity and the heart.†Glad the studio kept the line in. We’re sure there was an exec out there somewhere wondering what gynecology has to do with it.