“Barbie” fever has hit “Saturday Night Live.”
Greta Gerwig’s live-action spin on the iconic Mattel toy got a droll parody trailer in Saturday’s episode of the NBC comedy series. In a pre-taped sketch, “SNL” cast members imagine what it’d look like if American Girl dolls got their own movie. Naturally, the results are less than ideal.
The original American Girl dolls are fictional characters from various time periods. As a result, a historically accurate film would feature grave subjects such as war, slavery, illness and death.
“My daddy’s a prisoner of war,” says Molly (Molly Kearney), a World War II-era character. “And tragically, I have glasses.”
“That’s OK,” says Addy (Ego Nwodim), a young Black girl growing up during the Civil War. “I don’t know my birthday because I’m a runaway slave.”
A chipper voiceover explains that unlike “Barbie,” there are no boyfriends or pink Corvettes in this story.
“Did all their family members die of vague, old-timey diseases? Absolutely,” the narration says. “Come for the fun, stay for the overburdened preteens wearing four layers of petticoats and pantaloons.”
The tongue-in-cheek trailer ends with multiple American Girls contracting cholera, while Josefina (Ana de Armas) announces her plan to stop the Spanish-American War. At one point, they dump a dead body from a covered wagon.
de Armas hosted “SNL” for the first time this weekend alongside musical guest Karol G. The Cuban actress played a Spanish student, game-show contestant and hip-hop vocalist in her sketches, and reflected on learning to speak English in her monologue.
“Barbie” (in theaters July 21) spawned multiple memes with its new trailer and character posters earlier this month. The hotly anticipated movie stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as versions of Barbie and Ken dolls, respectively, although the film’s plot is being kept tightly under wraps. Issa Rae, Michael Cera, America Ferrera and Will Ferrell round out the star-studded cast.
