The ltle-known, real-life backstory behd the Barbie movie's very funny gay Ken joke - Queerty

Contents:

• TURNS OUT, BARBIELAND ISN'T AS GAY AS S QUEER FANS HAD HOPED
• THE GAYT MOVI THAT AREN’T ACTUALLY GAY, OM ‘BARBIE’ AND ‘BURLQUE’ TO ‘VENOM’ AND ‘ROAD HOE’
• IS BARBIE GAY AND WHY IS THE NEW MOVIE RATED PG-13?
• 'PASSAG' DIRECTOR NOUNC 'DANGERO' NC-17 RATG ON A FILM PICTG A GAY LOVE STORY
• THE LTLE-KNOWN, REAL-LIFE BACKSTORY BEHD THE BARBIE MOVIE’S VERY FUNNY GAY KEN JOKE
• REVIEW: ‘I CARRY YOU WH ME’ BRGS A GAY IMMIGRANT ROMANCE TO IMPERFECT BUT MOVG FOC
• BARBIE SAID “GAY RIGHTS!” LONG BEFORE MARGOT ROBBIE OR GRETA GERWIG SHOWED UP
• HOW GAY IS PIXAR’S LU?
• GAY FURRY HACKERS ARE TARGETG US STAT FOR PASSG ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATN
• ‘I CARRY YOU WH ME’ REVIEW: BTERSWEET GAY IMMIGRATN DRAMA FDS BETY REAL LIFE

TURNS OUT, BARBIELAND ISN'T AS GAY AS S QUEER FANS HAD HOPED

“First of all, I’m gay, ” he said, “and this movie is gog to be gay non. "Alex AvilaAnd Gay Tim, a Brish LGBTQ news se, celebrated Friday, the day of the film’s official release, as “Barbie day“ and lled the world-renowned doll a “queer cultural phenomenon.

THE GAYT MOVI THAT AREN’T ACTUALLY GAY, OM ‘BARBIE’ AND ‘BURLQUE’ TO ‘VENOM’ AND ‘ROAD HOE’

PicturIn an terview wh Fandango, actor Kate McKnon, who is openly gay and plays “Weird Barbie” the film, said Barbie is about “imagatn.

IS BARBIE GAY AND WHY IS THE NEW MOVIE RATED PG-13?

Many also flagged the teased scene which Barbie, now the real world, exchang a longg look wh Ameri Ferrera’s Gloria character; though, the relatnship between the two turns out to be a tribute to motherhood and the tradnal, nuclear before the film’s release, Robbie all but squashed the mors that some or any of the Barbi and Kens would be gay, tellg the Brish LGBTQ magaze Attu: The dolls don’t “actually have sexual orientatns.

There are brief appearanc by Earrg Magic Ken and Palm Beach Sugar Daddy Ken, both of which Mattel has always nied were tentnally gay-d. ”As far as the queer-d trailers and promotnal clips for the new “Barbie” film, Rand poted to a phenomenon known as “gay wdow advertisg, ” or the practice of advertisers gturg to queer dienc a way that will go over the heads of those who would disapprove. If “Barbie” tells anythg, ’s that a movie don’t have to be gay to be, well, gay.

'PASSAG' DIRECTOR NOUNC 'DANGERO' NC-17 RATG ON A FILM PICTG A GAY LOVE STORY

So what mak a movie gay if isn’t explicly? Cast a few top-shelf gay ins there — your Bette Middlers, your Joan Crawfords, your Faye Dunaways playg Joan Crawford — and pecially have them reparteeg bchy l tearg each other to piec, and have an athetic that’s outre and unironilly mp, and you’ve got the wng-formula starter-pack for somethg licly fabulo and queer, even if not by tentnal sign.

But settg a precent for movi now nonized by gay culture that don’t technilly have any (non-d, anyway) gay characters were some of Hollywood’s most all-time legendary actrs: Bette Davis “All About Eve” ma “’s gog to be a bumpy ri” an idmatic quip, while Elizabeth Taylor then ma Bette Davis’ “what a dump” even more inic aga the openg le of “Who’s Aaid of Virgia Woolf, ” livered while gnawg down on a chicken wg.

THE LTLE-KNOWN, REAL-LIFE BACKSTORY BEHD THE BARBIE MOVIE’S VERY FUNNY GAY KEN JOKE

Ed Bianchi’s 1981 “The Fan, ” meanwhile, livered perhaps the greatt gift to gay film fans of a certa era stg Lren Ball as an agg actrs stgglg to hold onto her legacy while beg stalked by, what else but, a psychotic gay fan. Films like “9 to 5” and “Steel Magnolias” keep ptivatg bee their sts are all top-to-toe, inic-among-the-gays women who n duce tears and lghs and shout unfettably quotable l the same scene.

There’s also, of urse, the trend many of the movi of men beg huiated and based — somethg the gay mal the dience love to partake — leavg our inic women wh all the chips the end and whom we n leave the theater rootg for.

REVIEW: ‘I CARRY YOU WH ME’ BRGS A GAY IMMIGRANT ROMANCE TO IMPERFECT BUT MOVG FOC

Below, IndieWire rounds up some of the bt cidly non-gay films that are actually gay after all — and gayer than many ntemporary movi proclaimg themselv as such actually are.

BARBIE SAID “GAY RIGHTS!” LONG BEFORE MARGOT ROBBIE OR GRETA GERWIG SHOWED UP

Why ’s gay: Bette Davis, we (the queer muny) love you. “All About Eve” has long been analyzed through a queer lens, wh many terpretg Eve and the character of Addison DeWt (Gee Sanrs) as gay.

HOW GAY IS PIXAR’S LU?

But even if you thk everyone the film is heterosexual, s gay appeal is unniable, wh an in like Davis the lead, geo stum, and all of the lightfully bchy snark between the magnificent actrs.

Why ’s gay: Nicholas Ray’s cult classic plays out like a mented, closeted lbian love story.

Why ’s gay: Ameri’s arguably greatt director is normally regard as heteronormative (Wterns, war films, John Wayne, Amerin history), but his work is full of subtextual gay tert, rarely as much as here. Why ’s gay: Beyond s possible cln bee of the bare-chted Holn — a 1950s Hollywood beefke, seen here ep to his reer — what is notable is a possible alternative terpretatn of two female characters. The ridiculo Rosemary, sympathetilly portrayed, has overton of mon olr gay lt fantasi for younger men.

GAY FURRY HACKERS ARE TARGETG US STAT FOR PASSG ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATN

Why ’s gay: Mame Dennis Burnsi is, que simply, mother. From the tfight the powr room to the over-the-top dialogue to the jaw-droppg mil numbers and not one but two montag that serve as md-bogglg time psul of the ’60s, the film is so outrageo that spired generatns of gay viewers to scream, “Sparkle, Neely, sparkle!

Why ’s gay: A wacky sexploatn film wh high mp productn valu and a killer theme song, Barbarella mt fight the evil Durand Durand (om which inic New Wave band Duran Duran took s name), while scg a shirtls Aryan angel and outlastg an evil sex mache. Why ’s gay: Endlsly quotable and drippg wh the fatigable spir of a stnch character, the tragic woman tak on a theatril magnificence wh Ltle Edie’s every twirl and outf change.

‘I CARRY YOU WH ME’ REVIEW: BTERSWEET GAY IMMIGRATN DRAMA FDS BETY REAL LIFE

What is: Although has been staged wh two men ( 2015 London), the straight uple’s suatn “Brief Enunter” — a drama of two married people (Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard) meetg by chance and their growg mutual affectn — works fe as a metaphor for barriers to gay romance.