One Of Barbie's Most Powerful Quotes Was Improvised By America Ferrera
Based on the box office haul of writer-director Greta Gerwig's "Barbie," you've likely seen the film's show-stopping speech delivered by America Ferrera's Gloria. When Gloria realizes Barbie (Margot Robbie) has been hit by an existential crisis, Gloria recognizes that even a doll depicting female perfection can feel inadequate. So, she delivers a soliloquy about just how hard it is to be a woman in real life. "It is literally impossible to be a woman," Gloria begins. "You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong." After she points out every single staggering, stunning contradiction required to be a woman, Barbie snaps out of her ennui.
Co-writer Noah Baumbach and Gerwig discussed this movie's pivotal scene with host Judd Apatow during a Writers Guild of America West Q&A (per Variety). When framing this scene, Gerwig said the pair had to ask: "What would be the thing that would make these Barbies snap out of it?" Gerwig revealed that the process was collaborative and Ferrera came up with a vital line. "I felt very much like it wasn't just something that we came up with and then delivered to America," she said. "It was something that we talked about a lot and worked on a lot and she brought her experiences and embroidered it with things that were specific to her. The line 'always be grateful' came from her."
Gloria's speech is a centerpiece of the Barbie movie
In regards to the Barbies "snapping out of it," here's a quick refresher about how Gloria and Margot Robbie's Stereotypical Barbie use this monologue for good. After Ken (Ryan Gosling) transforms the matriarchal Barbie Land into a convoluted patriarchy that centers mostly around mini-fridges, giant fur coats, and horses, Barbie and Gloria are left to try and convince a bunch of brainwashed Barbies that they don't want to spend their time serving "brewski beers" to their Kens. When Gloria delivers her speech, not only does Barbie feel better, but Writer Barbie (Alexandra Shipp) snaps out of her fugue state — relieved that she no longer has to feel anything in particular about Zack Snyder's cut of "Justice League."
From there, Gloria and the unprogrammed Barbies — as well as Michael Cera's Allan — work together to distract Kens while they steal said brainwashed Barbies away. Gloria then delivers different versions of her speech, of which we only hear snippets ... but it works. Gloria's monologue is as effective in-universe as it is when you're simply watching the movie, and it's stunning to learn that phrase "always be grateful" — a line that rings so true for so many women and feminine people — was improvised by Ferrera.
According to Noah Baumbach, it's lucky the Barbie movie came together at all
Not only is it a pleasant surprise that Ferrera improvised this vital line in Gloria's monologue, but, as we learned from the Q&A, we're lucky Baumbach co-wrote the "Barbie" movie at all. Before Gerwig arrived — Variety notes she was at a different press event at the start of the Q&A — Baumbach told Judd Apatow he didn't want to work on the movie when Robbie enlisted them. "I thought it was a terrible idea and Greta signed me up for it," Baumbach shared. "I was just like, 'I don't see how this is going to be good at all. I kind of blocked it for a while and every time she'd bring it up, I'd be like, 'You've gotta get us out of this.' And then the pandemic happened..."
Later, Gerwig confirmed Baumbach's recollection, saying he said, "'There's no character and there's no story, so why do you want to do this? There's no entry point.'" Baumbach actively worked to get the project off their shared plate: "And he'd do, like, side calls to try to get us out of it." But when Gerwig brought an early draft to Baumbach that involved Barbie meeting a dying, sick person, Baumbach understood the film was about seeing unfiltered humanity and embracing it despite fear. This theme all ties directly back to Gloria's impassioned monologue which is one of the many reasons "Barbie" became a cinematic juggernaut.