“Preachy, Man-Hating, Zombie Lie” – Latest Box Office Report 2023

“I hoped it wouldn’t be preachy, man-hating, and a #ZombieLie – alas, it was all three,” Maher wrote on X (previously often known as Twitter).

Right here’s what Maher needed to say in regards to the Margot Robbie hit. Honest warning: The beneath is a tad rant-y, not solely simple to observe, comprises gentle spoilers and is usually a little bit of an eyeroll.

“What’s a Zombie Lie? One thing that by no means was true, however sure individuals refuse to cease saying it (tax cuts for the wealthy enhance revenues, e.g.); OR one thing that USED to be true however not is, however sure individuals fake it’s nonetheless true,” Maher wrote. “Barbie is this type of #ZombieLie. Spoiler alert, Barbie fights the Patriarchy. Proper as much as the Mattel board who created her, consisting of 12 white males! The Patriarchy! Besides there’s a Mattel board in actual life, and it’s 7 males and 5 girls. OK, not good even-steven, however not the way in which the board IN THE MOVIE – which takes place in 2023 – is portrayed. And not likely any longer deserving of the phrase ‘patriarchy.’ Sure, there was one, and remnants of it stay – however this film is so 2000-LATE.”

“At one level the Barbies should win over the Kens, and they’re instructed to do it by pretending to behave helpless and never know do stuff,” Maher continued. “Helen Gurley Brown known as, she needs her premise again. Sure, that WAS a factor. I noticed Barbie with a girl in her 30s who mentioned, ‘I don’t know a single lady of any age who would act like that as we speak.’”

“I do know, I do know, ‘How may I do know in regards to the patriarchy, I AM a person!,’ he added. “That argument is so previous and so foolish. In fact, none of us can know precisely what others undergo life, however I can see the world round me, and I can learn knowledge. The true Mattel board is a reasonably shut mirror of the nation, the place 45% of the 449 board seats stuffed final 12 months in Fortune 500 firms have been girls. Fact is, I’m not the one who’s out of step – I’m dwelling within the 12 months we’re dwelling in. Barbie is enjoyable, I loved it – however it IS a #ZombieLie. And individuals who don’t go together with zombie lies didn’t take some purple tablet – simply staying true to CURRENT actuality. Let’s reside within the 12 months we’re dwelling in!”

Maher is the newest male media pundit to take problem with the movie, which has been tackled by a number of conservative voices, starting from podcaster Ben Shapiro to billionaire Elon Musk (who wrote “If you happen to take a shot each time Barbie says the phrase ‘Patriarchy,’ you’ll cross out earlier than the film ends”).

But the movie has been an unstoppable all-quadrant hit all the identical: Barbie has an enormous critics rating (88 % on Rotten Tomatoes) and nearly equal viewers rating (84 %) and the largest field workplace haul for a reside motion movie by a feminine director in cinema historical past.