International Women's Day/Barbie (2025) Movie Review

hello everyone and welcome to movie goodness where we examine life through cinema here on the kb radio network i am your host kevin reeds and this is a special edition that we have i guess you can say it's an annual tradition

because ever since the inception of this podcast every year we had set this date aside to celebrate this you

international holiday at least it should be a day it should be recognized more than what it is and it is none other than international women's day which falls on march the

8th

2025 this is an annual day that celebrates women and that should be every day let's just put it out there and for everybody that's turning up their noses and you know who you are

If you got a mama,

I would imagine that a women's day would be important to you.

Even if you don't have a wife or daughters or anything like that,

you have a mama.

You had to have one at some point,

otherwise you wouldn't be here.

So it is an important day for everyone to celebrate this day.

Now I know it's Mother's Day has their day,

but you know what I'm trying to say here,

people.

Everybody knows a woman that needs to be celebrated.

on this day not to mention the cause behind it the reasoning behind this day if you want to get technical the whole month of march is women's month or international women's month i believe it's called it could be it

could go by a different name but you're supposed to celebrate women the entire month of march well in my case is 365 is 365 days of the year you

Not only do I have a mother,

I have a wife and I have two daughters and sisters and cousins and nieces and all this other good stuff.

I'm surrounded by women.

I am I am completely outnumbered in my house and in my family altogether.

So it's it's a no brainer for me.

I need to get on board or get lost.

That's the that's the mantra.

and so we're gonna uh discuss international women's day today we're gonna talk about the uh 2025 campaign theme uh of this year and we're gonna review a film that encapsulates the

woman movement if you will it is none other than the 2023 just phenomenon that took the world by storm barbie uh one of my favorite films of that year we're gonna review that film

uh at the end of the show but let's go over international women's day for 2025 and this year the theme for international women's day is accelerate action and this is for gender equality and

this is a fight that women has been fighting since the world started spinning it feels like uh always fighting for equality and this is something you

you know,

doing,

taking notes for this show,

doing research for this show,

you find out something.

And when I find out some things,

I like to spread it to all of you.

I feel that's my job here on the KB radio network.

And it's crazy to think this.

And I've seen this on two different sites at this current rate of progress that women are making the scribes that they're making the,

the,

the leaps forward that they're making.

right now,

which is phenomenal,

at the rate that they're going right now,

it will take until the year 2158,

which is roughly five generations from now,

to reach gender equality.

Now,

this is according to data by the World

Economic Forum.

I've looked this up on two different sites.

That is

Wow,

to me,

that is unbelievable to me.

And it hurts my heart because,

you know,

like I said,

I have daughters.

and i hold out hope that maybe my daughters as they get older they're in their 20s now but when they get older around my age that they may sniff equality in in their walks of life but no it's not going to happen but it well

they could miracles happen every day but going by the way things are going now and to be honest with you by the way things are going now especially in this country

in the good old U.S.

of the day,

you can probably add a couple of hundred years to that number because,

oh boy,

the so-called commander-in-chief that's in office right now,

it's nobody,

nobody is going to leap forward.

But that's another show for another day.

And

Accelerate Action is basically focusing on the need.

And it emphasizes the importance of taking swift and divisive steps to achieve gender equality.

It calls for increased motivation and urgency in addressing the systematic barriers and biases that women face,

both in their professional lives and in their personal lives.

To go along with the theme,

one of the best ways to...

forge gender equality is to understand what works for gender equality and to do it faster you know to do more of it faster accelerate action is a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies resources and activities that positively impact

women's advancement and to support them as well as elevate them significant barriers

to gender equality remain to this day yet with the right action and support positive progress can be made for women everywhere and one of the biggest ways to help accelerate action this year is

for gender equality is is to support the supporters uh with so many impactful groups around the world delivering critical work you

that assists women and girls we can all lead our support in solidarity um that's why this year in 2025 international women's day sees a big call to action for all international women's day events to incorporate an element of

women focused fundraisers from grassroots groups to large scale bodies uh

they are working tirelessly to support and advance women and girls.

So let's step forward in solidarity and commit to helping these groups by using the hashtag Accelerate Action for International Women's Day this year and beyond.

Continue to use that hashtag to support these women and their groups that are fighting the good fight.

Now,

you may ask,

so how can a simple Joe Blow like me and yourself,

how can we actually help out?

Well,

as individuals,

we can take steps in our daily lives to positively impact women's advancements.

It don't have to be writing a $10,000 check to,

you know,

XYZ organization.

Now,

if you have that to give,

good,

go ahead,

give it to them.

But I mean,

if people broke like mine.

myself and can't do that you know there are other things you can do we can call out stereotypes uh challenge discrimination question biases celebrate women's success and so much more i mean additionally sharing our knowledge and encouragement with others is key you

know everybody always like when they talk about help and that's in any situation you always your first thing

your mind gravitates to is money giving money or doing something like that you don't have to always give money because we don't always have money to give but you can give support in other ways you know just be the backbone be be a voice you know be

be that person that's there and standing with a certain group whether it's for women or any minority group it just be that support um

Light at the end of the tunnel,

man.

Somebody that's there for you.

You know,

there for them in this fight because it's not easy.

Obviously,

it's not easy.

It's been thousands of years and women are still...

fighting this fight so impactful group of organization and groups around the world deliver in a rate of effective strategies resources and activities that help hashtag accelerate action in many areas which includes forging

women's economy empowerment recruiting retaining and developing diverse talent supporting women and groups unto

into leadership and decision-making business and STEM,

uh,

designing and building infrastructure meetings,

the needs for,

uh,

women and girls helping women and girls make,

uh,

informed decision about their health involving women and girls in,

uh,

agriculture and film,

uh,

food security,

providing women and girls with access to quality.

education and training,

elevating women and girls'

participation and achievement in sports,

promoting creative and artistic talent of women and girls as well,

as well as addressing further areas supporting the advancement of women and girls.

International Women's Day remains an important opportunity to elevate and amplify the focus of gender.

equality um it is inclusive not exclusive which means that this isn't just a fight for the women as i was saying before uh to be that support and i'm talking to you fellas they to be that support be that uh

one that's fighting the fight for these women they can't do it alone they can't do it alone just like uh uh any other minority group fighting their fight you

they can't do it alone either.

Everybody needs to come together and help in every single cause that needs to be a fault.

You know,

we can't do it by ourselves.

So when it comes to the women,

women needs to be protected at all costs.

They need to have the support of others,

namely significant others and family members and loved ones and whatnot in their fight.

You know,

they can't feel that they're out there.

on an island by themselves trying to fight

Godzilla. You know,

they need us in the background.

You know,

it's often said that women always have their man's back.

I push back on that.

Women are the forefront.

Women are the leaders,

man.

You look in every,

because I watch a lot of nature stuff,

you know,

just to pick out lions.

you know who goes out and hunt and bring back the food for the lions it's the female the female the female is the one who do all the work because the female is is is one the smartest the

most ferocious let's keep it real uh they they would tear you up uh and i'm talking all species of female uh whether it's the animal or or a human being uh

they're they're the most ferocious so they they um they are the natural leaders in my humble opinion now yeah yeah i'm the man of the house and all this here but at the end of the day at the end of the day i'm

gonna keep it real a buck here my wife runs it my wife runs it i mean i'm not henpecked but but for the love of god um

every time i do something even if i do do something on my own accord in the back of my mind in the little crevices in my mind i'm constantly thinking what will my wife say or what would my wife do in this situation you know or what what is my wife's reaction to me making this purchase or something like that you know it's

always there it never stops me from doing what i'm doing

and I end up paying for it later.

But it just goes to show you how much of an impact the woman have on a man.

A man is always thinking about their woman.

They may not show it.

They may not even act like it,

but you can rest assured it's on their mind constantly.

On their mind constantly.

What is my significant other?

going to think about this situation now i just went on this little rant this little ramble rant it has nothing to do with international women's day but it was all my heart to say but it's really it's my way of giving respect

to the women,

to the woman,

you know,

even when my wife isn't around,

my children,

my two girls,

they take,

they take up the mantle,

they make sure,

they make sure that their presence is felt as well,

there is no,

there's no rest for the weary,

at least in my house,

I don't know how your house run,

but in my house,

nah,

bro,

it's,

it's all women all day,

and they run it,

it's so,

I can't make a move without one or all three knowing what move I'm going to make but

I'm there for them.

I really fight for them you know especially my girls.

I really fight and that's not to say I don't fight for my wife but I'm just saying for my girls you know them graduating from school and you know going off on their careers and whatnot and making a life for themselves.

I really do fight for them.

You know,

it goes back to my rant that I had after the election,

after the presidential election last year,

when

Darth Vader was elected into office.

And

I sat there and I thought about not so much me,

not my generation,

but my kids,

you know?

I thought about them and how much it sets them back.

No,

it wasn't about

Harris losing.

Kel is about Harris.

It's the simple fact that this fool won.

That's the part that disturbed me.

And

I knew once he was declared the victor that it was going to be tough for my daughters and any other woman.

Technically for everybody,

let's keep it real.

Everybody's affected by this moron.

But I really thought about the...

future and how hard my girls were gonna have to fight you know uh basically for the majority of their lives unless something changes in the not too distant future so uh yeah it's scary times uh

for everybody but especially for women and super especially for black women and so uh my girls got it double bad you know double

Double the trouble,

but I'm still hopeful,

you know,

and they're just going to have to continue to fight.

I was just hoping they didn't have to fight like I had to fight,

like their mom had to fight,

like their grandparents had to fight,

you know,

to keep a roof over their head,

food on the table and whatnot.

I was hoping that the fight would be a little easier,

but it looks like it's going to be twice as hard.

But as long as I.

air in my lungs i'm gonna continue to fight that's why i'm that's why i go so hard in the paint when it comes to women i have a different perspective on the matter i look at it from their perspective my girl's perspective and you would hope you would wish and pray that

a lot of people especially those with girls would look at things like that you know look at the fact of um oh

How does taking away

Roe vs.

Wade affect my daughter?

It's not a matter of abortion,

you know,

it's not a matter of whether you agree with abortion or not,

but it's a matter of my daughters having the right to choose whatever.

I may not agree with the choice they make,

but that's their choice to make.

Me as a man.

I know I made choices that my parents didn't agree with.

And I know it for a fact because they told me to my face they didn't agree.

They didn't agree.

And so it doesn't matter.

That doesn't matter whether you agree.

That's their decision.

And from a spiritual standpoint,

if you're a religious person or a spiritual person,

if you feel that is a sin,

Well,

guess who that's going to affect?

That affects them.

That's between them and God,

not you.

It's none of your business.

It's truly none of your business.

Let the women choose.

And once again,

I don't agree with it all,

but I do agree with their right to choose.

But,

and no government or no other entity should step in and make a choice.

for my kids.

Those are my kids.

And if I feel they can choose for their selves or they can make a decision on their own.

who are you who are you to step in and be parent now and now when i needed your help to be parent government when i needed your help when i needed assistance denied oh you make too much money oh no you

can't get assistance there but i can get i can get parenting help when it comes to something that has nothing to do with them but in any event uh the whole purpose of this show is to celebrate

international women's day and to show my love and support for the women who are fighting a good fight and i'm here for you uh if nobody else is there for you i'm here for you let's jump into our review but before we get to our review of

barbie let's talk about the inventor of barbie and that is uh no one no other than ruth handler you

who created the barbie uh doll after observing her daughter barbara wink wink and her friends making uh or having fun with this paper doll and role playing in these adult scenarios so ruth she noticed a market boy there you

know she saw that dolls um available at the time were mainly babies and toddlers you know the little

little dolls that you can play house with or whatever the case may be but it was nothing you know available that resembles an adult and so during a trip in 1956 with her daughter Barbara and her son Kenneth Ruth came across

Biv Libby

I believe I'm saying the name right it's a German doll and in an interview with Mary Lloyd the author of Forever Barbie Handler said that she saw the doll

in Switzerland.

However,

the book points out that on other occasions,

Handler said that she saw the doll in

Zurich. The adult figure doll was exactly what Ruth had in mind.

She purchased three of them,

gave one to her daughter,

and took the other two to Mattel.

The Liddy doll was based on a popular character of a satirical comic script for the newspaper.

bibbid bibbed or whatever bibbed in germany uh the lily doll was first sold in 1955 in germany and although initially sold to adults it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing it in outfits uh

that were available separately on return to the united states handler redesigned the doll with help from local inventor and uh designer jack ryan no not

from hunt from red october another guy she named the doll barbie after her daughter barbara and said that barbie was from wisconsin premiering in march 9th 1959 at the american international toy fair in new york city the

first barbie doll cost three dollars and was an instant hit in and in his first year you

sold 300,000 dolls.

The handlers and Mattel later added a boyfriend for Barbie named Ken after the handler's son Kenneth.

Eventually a huge range of Barbie dolls were released,

has portrayed over 125 careers such as a doctor,

a lawyer,

an astronaut and so forth and Barbie became known for her versatility.

of versatility and fashion the handlers added cars sports gear clothes and doll furniture to their barbie products roof handler was president of

mattel from 1945 to 1975 she passed away in

2002 but

in the 2023 barbie film handler was portrayed by rhea perlman in the film and so we with that perfect segue we'll travel right into that film we are going to barbie land and review the

multi academy award nominated film barbie i look i make no bones about it i make no secrets about it

I absolutely loved Barbie.

Me and my family,

me and my girls,

we all dressed up in pink,

including me,

to go to the theater.

And it was a beautiful movie-going experience.

you know,

because everybody was wearing pink.

It was a thing,

man.

It was a phenomenon.

It's weird because what makes it so weird,

we went to go see that that morning,

like a Saturday morning,

we went to go see Barbie.

And that evening,

me and my wife went to go see Oppenheimer.

So we saw both of those movies on the same day because they came out on the same day and I wanted to see them both.

for different reasons obviously but both of them were excellent but uh barbie sticks out the most is the one i've seen the most out of the two for a number of reasons this film was directed by gira gerwig who co-wrote the screenplay with her partner noah uh bumbrak and

is based off the fashion doll by mattel this is the first live action barbie film after numerous

animated films and specials this film stars margot robbie as barbie and ryan gosling as ken perfect casting for this movie margot robbie is top five most

beautiful woman on the world in the world top five now my wife is in that too you see what i did but margot robbie is top five

You couldn't have picked a perfect Barbie and she was perfect.

She also produced the film,

by the way,

but uh,

Ryan Gosling,

I remember when they announced the casting of Ryan Gosling,

I was like,

okay,

I can see him as Ken,

I guess.

Stole the movie,

man.

He basically stole this film,

but that's just,

that's just from an entertainment standpoint,

but it was a perfect balance.

You know,

for a lot of people.

And I mean,

men,

I know a lot of men didn't want to go see this movie and probably never did,

but I'm pretty sure they did.

This movie made over a billion dollars.

Men had to go see this as well.

So don't put on that front.

Like you didn't go see Barbie,

but

I know it was a lot of pushback.

Why would I go?

I'm a grown man.

Why would I go see Barbie?

You know,

I want to see them.

This is a girly movie.

Well,

it is a

a quote-unquote feminist movie i guess you can say but it was perfectly balanced i felt and that's what makes this movie special it is perfectly balanced between barbie and kent and what they're going through the plot of the film is it it's a journey of self-discovery you

know it's it's a self-discovery of barbie and for kent in this not only in barbie land but in this real world scenario

I thought it was played out perfectly.

Who else is in this cast?

You have America Ferrera,

Michael Cera,

Kate

McKinnon,

Issa Rae,

Rhea Perlman,

as I've mentioned before,

and Will Ferrell.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg because there are numerous cameos and co-stars throughout this film that you were like,

man,

they really stacked this cast.

You know,

you had Heron Mirren.

uh doing the voiceover you have uh john cena popping up in here you had uh sumo lu in this movie it was just so many actors and actresses and they were all diverse

and all beautiful at the same time it wasn't just one kin it wasn't ryan gosling portraying all the kins they were all different kids it wasn't just margot robbie

portraying all of the barbies there are different barbies because if you go to toys or us if it if there's a toys or still around if you go to the toy store and look at the barbie aisle or the barbie section they're different kind of barbies you know they're different colors different ethnicities different uh creeds all that stuff and

they just showed it in this film this movie was cool man i really i really admire how they approach this film

Because this could have been the cheesiest of cheese.

And when you look at it,

like if you just look at stills of this movie,

you're like,

man,

this is the cheesiest movie you're ever going to watch.

But it's not.

It all makes sense.

No matter how goofy and silly that the set design may look in Barbie Land,

it's Barbie Land.

It was supposed to look like that.

It's not a real place.

But the real world looked like the real world.

You know,

Garrett.

Gary Gurek did such a good job with this.

I never was.

I watched Lady Bird that she directed.

That was a cute little film,

but I didn't think that she was like this type of director,

you know,

to put this type of film together.

But man,

did she do a good job with this?

I think she also directed

Little Women,

the remake today.

And that was all right,

too,

because I never did like the.

that material i wasn't a fan of the movie but it wasn't because of her direction but i was really really impressed with the way she orchestrated this kind of goofy silly uh cheesy

material and actually made it serious actually made it poignant had some real world implications involved in you

showcasing what women go through showcasing what they feel not only that not only that showcasing what a man goes through with their egos and you know dealing with the patriarchy and all this other foolishness and

seeing those two philosophies clash using barbie dolls using these life-size barbie dolls is so to speak

was genius it is absolute genius and if you get your head out your behind for a little while and look past all that and really pay attention to the story and lean into what's being told you

would actually learn something i'll never forget sitting in a theater and when america ferrera's monologue that epic monologue that she had

in the middle of the movie and I looked I was like man that really sucks you know I'm thinking about what she's saying and all of a sudden I hear on us I hear sniff and I peek over at my wife and she's crying and

I look over you know while there's some light in the theater I'm looking at other women throughout the in the theater and they're crying and I'm like oh my god

oh my god they struck a nerve i mean i felt it and it was it was a very impactful speech that she gave and i understood it it wasn't overblown it wasn't preachy it wasn't beating you over the head it

was just a woman pouring out her heart and you couldn't do nothing but just accept it nod your head and be like yeah yeah

It really stinks and it wasn't to poopoo on men.

That's what makes it crazy

Yeah, men plays a part in some of their you know dismay

But it's just the way that women approach things and it's the way that they view things and you understand

Some of the way that they're thinking now that being said

You as a man speaking for all men out here

you'll never fully understand what a woman is thinking.

At least I can't.

So you can get that out your head.

But I understood what they were feeling at that moment.

And I wouldn't have got that experience sitting at home watching that on the sofa.

I got that revelation sitting in the theater and not only watching my wife,

but watching all of these other women,

even girls,

little girls who haven't even experienced life.

to the fullest yet they felt it they were crying you know and it was just an emotion but she it wasn't like america ferrera was sitting there crying boohoo and oh you don't know what it's like no it wasn't that but it she delivered it in a way that

was just epic to the point where she got nominated for best supporting actress i don't think it was for that movie but it was for that scene because that was just perfect delivery

that line speaking of perfect delivery

Ryan Gosling is can

I Harped on it a little while ago,

and I know this is International Women's Day But I got to give credit where credit is due Ryan Gosling man,

right?

Gosling as Ken was so good.

He was goofy irrelevant silly

Borderline artistic,

but he really

really hit home on a lot of the points from the men.

You know,

it was like a counter to what the America Ferreira character was saying,

but the men saying it,

but it made you realize that men are just

children we are children we are the dumbest species god put on earth and it's the truth and that's probably why a lot of men didn't like this movie because it just put

a mirror in front of your face and i'm man enough to look in it and say yep yep i i know what i know what he's talking about right there it was it was a nice performance by him margot robbie as

Barbie also excellent job by her she really nailed this turn that her character goes through this transformation that her character goes through super super cool you know uh the scene when she's sitting on the bench when she's in the real world and she's sitting next to this older woman and

you could tell this woman she's been through life you know she's been through life and

she turns and look at barbie and barbie's looking at you like you're beautiful and she was you know and it you look at people and she wasn't looking she was she wasn't saying she's beautiful in the uh outside realm it was on the inside realm because the woman smiled and her smile was such a pretty smile and it's

it doesn't matter what you went through in life because it looked like that woman has been through it

You know,

she has been through life,

but she's still beautiful,

you know,

and it makes you look at people from the inside.

I'm able to look at people differently by watching this stupid,

silly

Barbie movie.

It really touched me in that way.

And so

I really loved how Margot Margot Robbie handled that.

The rest of the cast was fine.

Like I said,

the direction was good.

I thought.

that it appealed to adults children males females it didn't matter this movie really touched uh everybody's soul and you could tell because it was one of the most highly successful films of that year i think it was the top grosser of

that year if i'm not mistaken uh if it wasn't it still made over a billion i do know that much but it was worth every penny and it earned every

penny the fantasy comedy barbie starring margot robbie and ryan gosling gets a letter grade of an a yes it is it's an awesome movie i watched it recently and and to be honest with you uh it helped me make uh do this show because

it jogged my memory of international women's day and i was like it i know it's in march you know what i'm sitting there

during the credits the end credits i'm like it's in march i'm gonna review barbie i gotta do another review of barbie i i just i enjoyed it i really did i enjoyed it all over again like i was watching it for the first time but

international women's day for 2025 the theme this year is accelerate action hashtag it throw your support uh whatever you can do if it's monetary

Fine.

If it's other means you can do it.

Also fine.

Whatever you do,

make it count.

Email the show if you want to holler at us over here at the KB Radio Network.

KB Radio podcast at Gmail dot com.

You can look up the show on all social media platforms.

Just search for the KB Radio Network.

Also,

YouTube subscribe to the KB Radio Network channel on YouTube and like.

this video if you don't mind don't forget about the five stars the reviews and sharing this show if you're listening on apple podcast spotify iheart radio wherever you are currently listening to movie goodness here on the kb radio network

everybody thank you for joining me as we took some time to celebrate international women's day to all my ladies out there i got your back

I love you all,

and

I support you in what y'all doing.

I really am.

This isn't pandering.

I truly,

truly am an ally in this fight,

as we all should be.

Love you all.

I want you all to know that I love you.

Continue to love everyone,

and until we speak again,

you all be blessed.

International Women's Day/Barbie (2025) Movie Review

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