While Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” live-action remake wows audiences through its glittery and totally pink trailer, “Saturday Night Live” is shining a spotlight on the less glamorous, drab world of the American Girl doll — sickness, Death, unpleasant history and all.
“People can’t stop talking about the trailer for the new ‘Barbie’ movie, but not all dolls live in dream houses,” the narrator says in the sketch’s opening. “Some are big, some are small, sad; Some dolls are American girls.
As the trailer for the historically accurate flick introduces its struggling heroines, from Samantha (Chloe Fineman) watching her parents die on a boat to Molly’s (Molly Kearney) father being taken prisoner of war, Each sob story is worse than the other. When Addy (Ego Nwodim), the only Black American girl doll, shares her story, the other dolls exchange bewildered looks: “It’s okay, I don’t know my birthday because I’m a runaway slave.”
“Do they have pink Corvettes? No. Or boyfriends? No way,” the narrative continues as the girls play the only way they can by scrubbing floors and churning some butter. “Did all the members of his family die of unexplained diseases of old? Absolutely.”
Despite their best efforts to have some fun — including a fashion show full of petticoats and the tea party of our nightmares — glimpses of the girls’ dark pasts resurface, with Josefina (Ana de Armas) saying, “My mama The memory of is slipping away,” while Kit (Sarah Sherman) coughs up blood before rapidly dying.
“These little girls have been through too much,” a New York Times review reads today’s mixed flick.
As American Girls begins their journey from American Girl Land to the modern world, the dolls set their sights on some pretty lofty goals.
“I’m going to stop World War II,” Molly exclaims, while Josefina adds, “And I’m going to stop the Spanish American War!”
“I’m going to end cholera,” Kirsten (Heidi Gardner) declares before falling to an untimely demise.
You can watch the full clip above.
