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It’s Barbie Week at The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, celebrating the doll’s pop-culture history, our favorite Barbie memories, and a certain major movie. Read all of our coverage here!
Of all the Barbies in Greta Gerwig’s jubilant new film—President Barbie, Mermaid Barbie, Sanitation Worker Barbie, etc.—the only one I know for a fact that everyone owned is Weird Barbie. Played by Kate McKinnon, she’s the doll whose owner “played with her too hard.” A quick, haunting flashback clarifies what that means: This Barbie was thrown around, pulled apart, and given a garish makeover, courtesy of scissors and markers.
The other Barbies ostracize Weird Barbie, a moniker they gave their sistren behind her back (and to her face, as they always apologetically admit). There’s no room for a Barbie with imperfect hair and bizarre makeup and who’s always doing the splits in Barbieland; she’s seen horrors that they dare not let infect their pristine, pink world. But that isolation makes Weird Barbie not just hilarious, but also deeply familiar. She’s the Barbie that actually exhibits proof of playtime, who clearly belonged to a little girl we know and most likely were ourselves.