Warning: The following contains full spoilers for Barbie.
Barbie director Greta Gerwig has explained how she crafted the movie’s ending and why she decided to wrap it up with a “mic drop” moment.
By the end of Barbie, Margot Robbie’s eponymous doll has traversed the land, sea, the great outdoors, and outer space, venturing to the real world and back. She has discovered that life is not all about blowout parties, beach hangouts, and rollerblading dates — there are a lot of mundane tasks and appointments.
Proceed with caution! Major spoilers about Barbie’s ending follow.
In the last scene, Barbie enters an office building brimming with excitement as she sets about her new life by attending what initially appears to be a job interview. She approaches the front desk to check in for her appointment, where she delivers the movie’s final line, “I’m here to see my gynaecologist.”
Gerwig, who co-wrote the script with her filmmaker-writer husband, Noah Baumbach, told USA Today that she wanted the movie to end on a “funny and emotional” note, in keeping with the overall tone of the feature while also reinforcing the lessons learned along the way and sharing a final in-joke with anyone who can relate.
“It was important for me that everything operated on at least two levels,” Gerwig explained. “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.
“And then 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,” she 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.”
Gerwig’s plastic-fantastic feature landed the best domestic box office opening day of 2023 and has earned rave reviews from fans and critics alike. IGN’s review of Barbie gave the movie a 9/10, calling it a “hyper-femme roller-coaster ride” that provides “a masterful exploration of femininity and the pressures of perfection.”
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
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