“Any dude that can’t take those hits in that movie, they’ve really got to look in their pants and decide what they’re made of,” the comedian said of the film’s “right-wing” critics
Marc Maron is weighing in on Barbie — and the “certain men” who created a so-called “grift around it.”
In a TikTok post Tuesday, the comedian and podcaster, 59, praised writer-director Greta Gerwig’s big-screen Mattel toy adaptation, calling the hit film “a f—— masterpiece, and I don’t throw that word around lightly.”
He added with characteristic candor, “I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t even that excited about going.”
The WTF With Marc Maron host then addressed right-wing conservatives who have expressed criticism about Barbie’s shrewdly playful portrayal of men and masculinity. “The comedy about men is inspired. And the fact that certain men took offense to the point where they, you know, tried to build a grift around it in terms of their narrative is right-wing —-. It is so embarrassing for them.”
He continued, “Any dude that can’t take those hits in that movie, they’ve really got to look in their pants and decide what they’re made of. I mean, Jesus Christ, what a bunch of f—— insecure babies.”
Barbie stars Margot Robbie as a resident of Barbieland who travels to the real world, only to discover it’s not the feminist utopia she believed it was. Along for the ride is Ryan Gosling’s dumbly devoted Ken, who proceeds to corrupt their colorful, plastic home with the toxic ideals of modern patriarchy.
In an interview with the New York Times following the July 21 release of the film, Gerwig responded to the backlash from conservative pundits threatening to burn Barbie dolls.
“Certainly, there’s a lot of passion,” she said. “My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men. I hope that in all of that passion, if they see it or engage with it, it can give them some of the relief that it gave other people.”
Of her original intentions in crafting a live-action story about Barbies, Gerwig added, “I wanted to make something anarchic and wild and funny and cathartic, and the idea that it’s actually being received that way, it’s sort of extraordinary.”
“Certain men” notwithstanding, Barbie has received critical acclaim and commercial success. Following a marketing and media blitz, it exceeded expectations, smashing the record for biggest debut for a female-directed film and recording the seventh-largest second weekend at the domestic box office in cinema history, according to Variety. It’s currently the fourth highest-grossing movie of 2023 after The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
In his TikTok video, Maron expanded on his personal assessment of Barbie. “I’ve just never seen anything like it,” he said.
“To create a broad-based entertainment product that applies to the entire spectrum, I think primarily of women, and then just seep it in progressive politics and basic feminism in a way that’s funny, informative and well-executed in a context that is completely engaging — it’s f—– monumental,” the GLOW star continued. “It shouldn’t be, but it is pretty radical. And it’s intentionally, thoroughly explaining feminist ideas in a way that’s funny.”
He concluded by calling the performances “great” and praising Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach’s screenplay. “And they cast Will Ferrell to be Will Ferrell funny, which is always a treat. That’s what I thought of it. It made me proud, somehow.”
This year, Maron guest starred on two episodes of the series The Horror of Dolores Roach, after appearances on Reservation Dogs and as a voice actor in DC League of Super-Pets and The Bad Guys.
