Barbie is set to become one of the summer's hottest movies, but one early viewer is telling moviegoers to avoid the potential blockbuster because of the male lead's "beta energy."
"Thinking about watching the Barbie move?" Ginger Gaetz, the wife of GOP Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, asked on Twitter. "I'd recommend sticking to getting outfit inspiration and skipping the theater."
Posting photos of herself and her husband at a premiere of the film, Gaetz said that while she "really wanted to enjoy it," she "ended up feeling let down" because she felt that the live-action flick doesn't address "any notion of faith and family," "tries to normalize the idea that men and women can't collaborate positively" and has "disappointingly low [testosterone] from Ken."
Director Greta Gerwig's film is scheduled for theatrical release in the U.S. this weekend and has been hyped up as one of the biggest movies of the year. Barbie, the first live-action film featuring the fashion doll, stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken. In the movie, Barbie grows disillusioned with the challenges of being a real-life woman, and the film gives a feminist twist to the Mattel doll's story.
Responding to a tweet that praised Gosling's role in the movie, Gaetz said, "He's got major beta energy in this one." ("Beta energy" is a slang term used to describe a man who is passive, subservient and weak.)
Newsweek reached out by email to Gerwig and Barbie Media for comment.
Gaetz said that while she didn't like the film, she enjoyed Robbie's performance, the movie's costume design and the soundtrack. Her husband also seems to be a Robbie fan. He weighed in on a debate about how beautiful the Australian actress is after some said she was "mid," a slang term often used for someone or something that is average or below.
Speaking at a Turning Point Action event this month, the congressman joked that transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney could be the new Barbie "in these days," before saying that "Margot Robbie is not mid. A 10 is a 10, even with common core men."
Before she posted her review of the movie, Ginger Gaetz suggested her husband had "Big Kenergy" in a caption for a photo of the couple.
Although she seemed displeased with Gosling's portrayal of Ken, the actor has received acclaim for his performance.
ScreenRant writer Joseph Deckelmeier praised Gosling as "pure entertainment," while Sharronda Williams, host of the Pay or Wait channel on YouTube, called him a "scene stealer delivering most of the laughs."
"Give Ryan Gosling an Oscar nomination, I'm dead serious!" Jamie Jirak of ComicBook.com tweeted.
