Margot Robbie Always Envisioned Barbie to be Like Austin Powers in One Way

Summary

Margot Robbie saw Barbie as a silly, smart comedy, similar to Austin Powers.
The marketing initially made it unclear what to expect, but the social satire became evident in the final trailers.
The film aimed to bring back the kind of comedy that could be enjoyed by everyone, not just a specific audience.

Was Barbie a social statement, a commentary on the toy industry’s impact on the world, or was it just a silly, smart comedy? According to star Margot Robbie, it was definitely the latter – and there is one surprising, raunchy Mike Myers comedy that it instantly reminded her of.

Although the initial marketing of Barbie made it unclear exactly what to expect from what turned out to be the biggest movie of 2023, as the premiere of the film drew closer, the social satire of the story began to filter into the final trailers. For Robbie, the movie was always about one thing – being a silly comedy like the Austin Powers franchise. She told Deadline:

“I’d really been missing silly comedy. Silly, smart comedy. I always thought of the tone along the lines of Austin Powers, and when I read the script, that was the tone that rang out. A lot of physical comedy, a lot of silly but smart jokes, something very referential. That kind of comedy had all but disappeared from mainstream cinema for a number of years. Honestly, probably Austin Powers is the last time I felt it. Everything became very specific; comedy for this kind of audience, or that kind of audience. We were missing the silly, smart comedy that could be a hit for everybody. I was really excited we could do that; that it didn’t feel like a movie made for a specific group of people. No, this was for everyone.”

Barbie Surpassed Expectations by Subverting Them

Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha, Margot Robbie as Barbie, and America Ferrera as Gloria in Barbie (2023), driving in Gloria's car. — Warner Bros

Whenever the name Barbie is mentioned, the mind is instantly filled with bright animated cartoons, YouTube videos of children playing with Barbie dolls, and an endless stream of pink, pink, and pink. While most of that is found somewhere in Greta Gerwig’s take on the most iconic doll in the world, that is only the beginning.

Prior to the release of Barbie, and before the “Barbenheimer” movement took over everything surrounding the release of the film and its unlikely cinematic bedfellow, several actors had spoken about the script being one of the best they had ever read. Simu Liu, Ryan Gosling and Robbie all talked about the moment they were given the script and realized that the film was going to change a lot of perceptions about the character of Barbie.

While not many people believed that, after just a few days on release it became apparent that this was indeed the case, and Barbie had landed differently to any other time in her 60-year history. Although there have been questions asked about whether the movie will get a sequel, it is clearly the wrong question to ask, as making a franchise from the film was never the purpose of anyone involved in its creation. While that does not mean that there could be other stories to tell within the same Barbie world, for now it seems that Barbie is, as its title character always has been, an iconic piece of pop culture in a league of its own.