Barbie: The Screenplay

by Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach

Barbie's perfect life spirals into existential chaos, prompting a soul-searching journey that challenges her perceptions of reality and self-purpose.

Genres: Plays, Film, Fantasy, Fiction, Feminism, Humor, Womens

138 pages, Paperback

Published December 19, 2023

About the author

Greta Celeste Gerwig is an American actress and filmmaker.

Reviews

[angelinabvby ۶ৎ]

𝓑ᥫ᭡ "𝕄𝕒𝕪𝕓𝕖 𝕚𝕥’𝕤 𝔹𝕒𝕣𝕓𝕚𝕖 𝔸ℕ𝔻... 𝕚𝕥’𝕤 𝕂𝕖𝕟." 🎀🛼🫶🏻🌸🛍️

OMG I JUST GAINED SO MUCH MORE FKING RESPECT FOR THIS FKING MOVIE

this was such a throwback. not greta writing the entire history of humankind in 116 pages. not greta making me cackle at the all the toxic feminisms & toxic masculinities. not greta making me tear up because goddamn did some of those quotes hit hard. not me reading "barbie margot" as "barbie maggot"



ALSO IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE BARBIE MOVIE YET WHAT ARE YOU DOING

𝓑 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 🏩
⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹
back in my screenplay reading era ✌️

[fiona]

this movie is my roman empire.

[Alexandra]

Absolutely loved it. So brilliant to see the genius behind what's on the screen, and understand the creative vision Greta Gerwig developed from the black and white words on the page. So full of love and femininity - and just as emotional ❤️

[Inès]

That monologue ✨ gets me every single time
Wish I could watch this masterpiece again

[Anisha Inkspill]

I expected a fun movie that is trying to push Barbie into the 21st Century. Reading the screenplay, the story hangs on the plot that relies on noise that is dressed as comedy (like Mattel CEO and his board travelling to Barbie land on tandem bikes). This sequence is too long, is more of a distraction and adds nothing to its central message of identity and empowering women.

And yet, aspects of the movie are fun but I don’t buy its pitch for gender equality, the message I come away with is woman power can exist in Barbie Land, an imaginary place that continues to be a fantasy.

I would buy it if Stereotypical Barbie aspires to be an inventor. This sounds more fun and innovative and voicing women empowerment without spelling it out, but Amy Schumer’s idea was rejected and down the line replaced with Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig.

But every change needs a beginning, and I guess this is a good place as any to start.

[bri 🧸]

this screenplay literally changed my life (real)

[Hunter]

I mean… Excellent.

[Lavelle]

I’m a barbie girl in a barbie world

[lexi]

I would give literally anything to have been at the first Barbie table read. I know there’s footage somewhere RELEASE IT.

[lucy]

4eva in my barbie era 🎀🩷

[Tasha]

Greta Gerwig is a genius/ I am in my screenplay era

[Lindsay Davis]

LOVE

[Maya]

5 ⭐️

what do you expect it’s barbie

[Taylor Wilson]

I laughed. I cried. I did everything in between. Seeing the film was an experience like no other, but reading the screenplay is a whole other experience in itself, equally as special.

I feel blessed to be able to discover the artistic vision for the film from the incredible mind of Greta Gerwig, who will certainly go down in history as one of the best and most bold and creative writers/directors of all time.

I am kenough.

[Stephanie]

The Barbie Movie was the quickest special interest I ever developed. I have collected dolls for most of my life, but whereas Barbie dolls were the main part of my collection as a child, for many years as an adult I would specify that I didn't collect Barbies. Then the Barbie Movie released. I was interested in the film leading up to its release. By then I had slowly started to get back in to collecting Barbies. I also realised that my autistic special interest in dolls meant that I knew a lot more Barbie-lore than most people (and was surprised how little others knew). And so the film released and I went to see it the next day, not sure what to expect but feeling confident in my pink outfit. I was hooked. I saw it six times in cinemas that summer and a dozen times at home. I spotted new details each time I watched it. I still know most of the film word by word. It came out in a weird time of my life. I spent most of that summer in hospital and then immediately after, I moved house. Barbie really was my only moment of fun. A pink highlight. I considered writing my thesis about the film. I started actively collecting Barbies again. As expected, I received the screenplay as a Christmas present that year. Three weeks later, my mum unexpectedly dropped dead. Barbie had been the last film we watched in the cinema together. It was the last film I watched by myself before she died. When my aunt travelled over for the funeral, we watched it together. We watched it for my birthday. This time with my dad who didn't share mum's level of enthusiasm and switched it off halfway. It was also the quickest special interest I ever lost. Death and grief had caused the film to lose its magic. I still loved it, but not to the level I had loved it before. I never got to read the screenplay until now. Last year Alex bought me the dress that matches Barbie's dress and it sparks some Barbie joy every time I wear it. For disabled doll week this year, I spent a lot of time photographing and writing about my (disabled) Barbies. Suddenly, I felt more connected to Barbie again and finally felt able to read the cultural analysis book I got on the Barbie movie, but first I had to read the screenplay. And I loved it! I loved noticing the sometimes subtle sometimes big changes in the text. I want to read it alongside the film next because I finally feel like watching it again! Now, it's onto the cultural analysis book!

[Sarah]

i love barbie so much, truly one of the best movies

[Sarah Allen]

Glad we have Greta here to remind us that screenplays should be FUN to read

[Sean O’Halloran]

Ken’s job to beach is like my job to book and movie

[lidia]

brilliant🥰

[Hanne Mancil]

I fell in love with this movie when it came out, and I’ve always wanted to read the screenplay and annotate it as I was watching it. It was so fun to do and I recommend doing it! The monologue Gloria gives is truly amazing and relatable

[Ross Bonaime]

Reading Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's screenplay for Barbie is like having the couple excitedly tell you what their film is going to be about. I believe I've read the screenplays for all the films Gerwig has directed, and this is by far the liveliest, most delightful film of hers on the page. While usually a screenplay will simply tell the reader what to expect when they see the finished project, Barbie is full of jokes, references, even photos, and exhilaration that only the reader will get. This is one of the rare screenplays where I actually wish I had gotten to read this before seeing the film, as there's such a joy that they clearly had while writing this screenplay and it shines through on the page.

I also think this does a great job of showing just how important Gerwig's directing is here. On paper, this seems absolutely bonkers, weird, and hilarious, and to see how she brought that to life is something else. It's also a testament to the actors that they were able to make these characters even better than they are in this screenplay, and make this nuts concept work as perfectly as it does. Most screenplays can feel so stiff and direct in what their film is going to be, but Barbie is a charming read, and you can sense the love in the written word.

[iona]

the most special book i ever own for the movie that changed my life. my love for girlhood and womanhood is truly unmatched and greta gerwig captures the struggles of being a woman and joys of being with your girls so so incredibly perfectly. i will never stop loving this film and reading the screenplay made it feel even more special and personal!

[Paloma]

She thinks I’m a FASCIST😦BUT I DON’T CONTROL THE RAILWAYS OR THE FLOW OF COMMERCE😭

[elsa]

— babie: the screenply
( 4 / 5 ✩ ) ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

just as fun as the movie, if not a tiny bit more because the action lines had so much life and kept making me giggle. greta gerwig i LOVE your brain<33

[oliwia]

beautiful beautiful beautiful

[Manu Jayamohan Nair]

Had way more fun reading this script than I expected :) Beautifully written, crisp, funny and just weird.

Made me think about how film can be quite distracting as a medium. There are so many things competing for your attention that sometimes you do miss out on the brilliance of one element or the other. With no visual and audio stimuli here, and just the written word, I think a lot more of the written material stood out with this one. Found myself straight up giggling at random points (and some of them were moments from the movie which I didn't really have that much of a reaction to).

Fun thing to think about :)

[Hamish Galbraith]

Had so much fun reading this!!!!

It’s Greta and it’s Noah, I love you

[Eleonora Dell'Orto]

I love script books because they always add another layer to the movie :) this one was really good and it's so fun to see some of the thought processes they had while writing!!

[katia]

my friend saw me reading this and told be i should write a barbie sequel. i gotta get on that screenwriting grind

[Nora Dominick]

I love Greta Gerwig. That’s it. That’s the review.