John Carpenter is still in shock that he watched “Barbie.”
The “Halloween” and “The Thing” director told the Los Angeles Times that elements of Greta Gerwig’s history-making billion-dollar film went “right over” his head, but nevertheless, lead actress Margot Robbie was “fabulous.”
When asked if he’s seen movies in theaters, Carpenter replied, “I don’t go out. I haven’t been to a movie in a while, but I see them at my house. I’ll see it there.”
He continued, “I watched ‘Barbie.’ I can’t believe I watched ‘Barbie.’ It’s just not my generation. I had nothing to do with Barbie dolls. I didn’t know who Allan was. I mean, I can sum it up. She says, ‘I don’t have a vagina,’ and then at the end, ‘I’m going to go to a gynecologist!’ That’s the movie to me.”
Carpenter added, “I mean, there’s a patriarchy business in there, but I missed that whole thing. Right over my head. But I think she’s fabulous, Margot Robbie.”
“Barbie” helped bring back theatergoers as part of summer blockbuster double feature “Barbenheimer” alongside Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” both opening July 21.
Richard Linklater told a reporter that he saw “Barbie” multiple times and thought “Barbenheimer” was “the best thing that happened to cinema in a while.” He recently clarified comments, saying, “They get you on the red carpet, and it’s that last question in an interview where you’re just in a mood and you tell them the truth, but it’s not the gist of what you’re talking about. Like when you say, ‘Oh, yeah, indie cinema’s lost.’ And someone’s, ‘Oh, I didn’t think you were so pessimistic about it.’”
Gregg Araki, who was in conversation with the “Dazed and Confused” director for Interview magazine, more bluntly added, “It’s like fucking clickbait about you liking ‘Barbie.’ […] It’s like, ‘Rick Linklater loved “Barbie.” He saw it three times.’ I was like, ‘Really, this is your story? You’re talking to fucking Rick Linklater and you want to talk about “Barbie”?’ […] It’s fucking award season, so here comes the fucking tidal wave of 10,000 fucking movies that all want your attention. And it’s actually the critics’ lives every fucking day, so there’s this level of weariness.”
