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SPOILER ALERT: This post details the final scene of Greta Gerwig Barbie.
Barbie director and co-writer Greta Gerwig says she wanted a “mic-drop” moment to end the film — and she’s not talking about box office success, though she did get it.
If you haven’t seen the hugely popular film starring Margot Robbie as the world’s most famous doll and Ryan Gosling as boyfriend Ken, stop reading now. Seriously. This post includes the final line of the film and Gerwig’s explanation of it.
In an interview with USA Today, Gerwig explains that the ending was intended both as a tribute to Barbie creator Ruth Handler and as a body-positive message to young girls.
In the film, Barbie returns to Barbieland after a life-changing visit to Los Angeles. Still feeling a little lost, she is dealing with a personality crisis when she is visited by the ghost of Mattel co-founder Handler (played by Rhea Perlman), who uses so many words to tell the doll that the future is more important than the past. Barbie then decides to become human, takes on the name Barbara Handler, and pays a visit to a new significant person in her life.
The film’s final line: “I’m here to see my gynecologist.”
“With this film, it was important to me that everything worked on at least two levels,” Gerwig tells USA Today. “I knew I wanted to end with a mic drop joke, but I also find it very emotional. I remember growing up as a teenager and being ashamed of my body and just being ashamed in a way I couldn’t even describe. It felt like everything had to remain hidden.
“And then to see Margot as Barbie, with this big smile on her face, saying what she’s saying with so much happiness and joy at the end, I thought if I can make girls feel like, ‘Barbie does that too’ – it’s both funny and emotional.” There are so many things like that throughout the film. It was always about looking for lightness and heart.”