by Lani
In honor of the new Barbie movie directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie as the iconic blonde doll, I’ve gathered a list of some classic films featuring strong women who embody the spirit of Barbie. And since you can’t invoke Barbie without acknowledging her relationship to fashion, the costumes are, of course, impeccable across the board.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Barbie the movie takes clear inspiration from the Technicolor musicals of classic Hollywood like this highly entertaining comedy starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell as showgirls on a transatlantic cruise. Some gentlemen may prefer blondes, but what men want hardly matters in this movie. Monroe’s Lorelei wants to marry a millionaire, while Russell’s Dorothy is just looking to have some fun and keep her friend out of trouble. Rarely do we get to enjoy two women on screen being incredibly funny while also looking so drop-dead glamorous. While this film predates the debut of the Barbie doll in 1959, the fashion silhouettes are very similar to the early Barbies, and the iconic pink dress worn by Monroe while performing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” looks like something straight out of Barbie’s dream closet.
Funny Face (1957)
When a fashion photographer (Fred Astaire) and a magazine editor (Kay Thompson) set out to find models “who think as well as they look,” they stumble upon a bookshop beatnik (Audrey Hepburn) with the makings of a cover girl. Barbie, the doll with beauty and brains, is a fashion icon on par with Hepburn herself. And this is a film in love with fashion, showcasing a couture collection by Hepburn’s favorite designer Hubert de Givenchy. The opening number “Think Pink!” - performed like a boss by Thompson, it must be said - could be the Barbie-core anthem, calling for everyone to bury the beige and color their world pink.
The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
The Barbie filmmakers listed among their influences Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, a beautiful film with saturated colors, dreamy cinematography, and a very sad story of lost love. Made three years after Umbrellas, Demy’s light and airy musical about two sisters (Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac) looking for romance and a little excitement, feels much more in line with the upbeat energy of Barbie the doll. The color palette, all soft pastels and bright whites, makes the whole city look like ice cream. There’s even a Gentlemen Prefer Blondes homage when the sisters take the stage at a traveling carnival in red-sequined dresses.
Troop Beverly Hills (1989)
Right from the beginning, as colorful animated opening credits play out over The Beach Boys singing about being “larger than life,” this film embodies the Barbie ethos. Our heroine, Phyllis Nefler (Shelley Long) lives in a California dream house with a wardrobe that would be the envy of any 80s Barbie. While many people write off Phyllis as a shallow flake, after taking on the duties of Wilderness Girl troop leader she proves herself to be resourceful, kind, creative, and a valuable role model for her adolescent troop members. Anyone who rocks a jaunty cap adorned with 4-foot long pheasant feathers is not afraid to take up space – Barbie would be proud!
Clueless (1995)
In this mid-90s, SoCal adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, protagonist Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone in a miracle of a performance) is a teen Barbie come to life. She knows how to have fun, whether she’s partying or just vegging out, and understands the importance of a capable-looking outfit properly-deployed. Cher and Barbie would totally be friends because they both know what it’s like to have people be jealous of them. But Cher also proves to be empathetic, loyal, and a formidable captain of the Pismo Beach disaster relief effort.
Legally Blonde (2001)
Reese’s Witherspoon is perfection as “law student Barbie” Elle Woods, who goes from California sorority girl to unlikely star of Harvard Law. She’s following her ex-boyfriend Warner Huntington III, a legacy admission who thinks Elle is too extra for the Ivy League. But she soon proves that if you’ve judged a tighty-whitey contest for Lambda Kappa Pi, you can handle anything. Elle knows her worth, fights for justice, lifts others up, and keeps her dignity, even while wearing a pink bunny costume. And, like Barbie, Elle understands the power of pink, her signature color (whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed). To paraphrase the Barbie movie poster, Elle Woods is everything and he’s just…Warner.
