MOVIES | CULTURE
Barbie’s ‘Will Smith’ Moment
Here’s why Barbie is great, Oppenheimer is not, and why he deserved to have his face slapped at the Oscars.
It was only a matter of time before the “Barbenheimer” Rom-Com came to an end. The couple was too incompatible to live happily ever after. Hollywood endings only happen in the movies.
But at the live Oscars telecast anything can happen. Which is why it was fun to see Barbie pull a Will Smith on Oppenheimer during this year’s Academy Awards telecast. Even if it only happened on the cover of The New Yorker magazine.
Barry Blitt’s “Slappenheimer” cartoon in the magazine’s March 11th edition reminded us that The Slap seen round the world has become memory-resident.
Like other viral acts of violence, you never know when someone else will try it. Which is why Ted Koppel asked Jimmy Kimmel on CBS Sunday Morning if he expected someone to get hit during this year’s show. It’s why EGOT Rita Moreno brought it up during her Red Carpet interview.
Most of us probably don’t want to see the actual slap again. But a metaphorical reenactment is okay. Seeing Barbie slap the s-h-i-t out of Oppenheimer on a New Yorker cover is downright satisfying. He created a “gadget” that could…
