Nothing says “family fun” like a movie about body shaming. And nothing departs further from the iconic image of Barbie like the foul-mouthed feminist Amy Schumer, who is tapped for the starring roll in an upcoming live-action movie about the classic doll.
Mattel and Sony Pictures are currently in negotiations with the comedienne/actress, mostly known for her R-rated contributions Inside Amy Schumer and Trainwreck, to put her spin on a new PG flick slated for a summer 2018 release.
Deadline reports that top female writers helped draft the script over the last couple of years and says it settled into “a funny empowerment take,” one that producers thought fit best with Schumer’s personality. In fact, Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman hand-delivered the script to Schumer and personally pitched the movie. She jumped at the chance to “fit it into her crowded movie schedule” and is now involved in rewrites with her sister Kim Caramele.
Here’s how Deadline describes the plot:
Schumer will play a character who lives in Barbieland, among all of the various Barbie characters beloved by doll collectors (there are dolls covering over 180 careers). In a fish-out-of-water story reminiscent of films like Splash and Big, Schumer’s Barbie gets kicked out, basically because she’s not perfect enough, is a bit eccentric and doesn’t quite fit the mold. She then goes on an adventure in the real world and by the time she returns to Barbieland to save it, she has gained the realization that perfection comes on the inside, not the outside, and that the key to happiness is belief in oneself, free of the obligation to adhere to some unattainable standard of perfection. Mattel, with a lot at stake since the toyline has generated $3 billion in sales, signed off on the take.
So, no surprises here. Hollywood is being Hollywood. But aren’t they missing a real progressive moment in countering cultural traditions by not giving the title role to a male actor?
But mostly, we’re amazed that Schumer is available to do the film since she moved out of America after Donald Trump was elected. Wait, did she?

