I’m not a movie person. I have seen maybe five movies in the last five years. Yes, that included the two years or so of complete pandemic lockdown and not leaving the house. I like The Bechdel Cast because I’m a fan of Jamie Loftus and Caitlin Durante more than movies. But I haven’t spent much time listening to the podcast for that reason. However, with the two of them doing a tour to discuss Barbie, the 2023 monster hit film AND the only movie I’ve seen in theaters this decade, I was glad to have some connection to the movie the two were discussing.
I’ve lived in the Bay Area my entire life. I lived in San Francisco itself for over a decade. Not once did I ever make it to Beach Blanket Babylon. Definitely one of my regrets. Especially after paying Club Fugazi my first visit! What a fantastic venue! The stage is massive, with excellent sightlines. The staff kept the crowd fed, hydrated, and happy without distracting them from the show. The layout made every seat in the house excellent. I’m going to keep an eye out on this one.
As for the show, it was also, well, great? Durante and Loftus seem to have very different relationships with Barbie as an intellectual property. Durante was very matter-of-fact and focused on the film, playing the “straight man” if you will to Loftus’ delightfully nerdy, almost Narduwar-level knowledge of Barbie history, as well as a compelling history with the toys. Even their outfits- Durante wore a baggy Barbie sweatshirt and Loftus wore an actual Barbie costume from Party City. I could relate to her primarily being able to play with hand-me-down Barbies and confessing that most “new” Barbies she owned as a kid had to stay sealed in case they increased in value.
The discussion of the film “dusted” with Barbie facts was very nice. Barbie, as a movie, has been dissected a ton, and it helped differentiate it from other discussions. And the way Loftus glowed whenever she got to talk about her Barbie history just filled me with utter joy. I love fandom, and this was clearly an expression of fandom. It was also clear that Durante and Loftus were on the same page with the movie- it *is* feminism 101. BUT- Feminism 101 is still necessary, and the fact that a major studio released a big-budget motion picture that is willing to talk about feminism and the patriarchy AT ALL is big and shouldn’t be looked down on. Mattel definitely made sure they were presented in a positive light. Will Farrell’s character is completely unnecessary.
The lack of conflict about the film on stage did not distract from the fun. Jokes were a-plenty. They even brought out Sarah Marshall (not the fictional Sarah Marshall from the movie we all forgot about) at the show’s end to “play” Barbies on stage! The perfect way to end the night, although I suspect that part isn’t going to play as well to the listening audience.
