Gabrielle Grimes: An Ode to Beautiful Feelings- A Film Walkthrough

An Ode to Beautiful Feelings is about sister duo Gabi and Giada and their overwhelmingly positive experience going to see the Barbie movie. Overcome with nostalgia, female empowerment, and, of course, Gabi’s love for Greta Gerwig, the two sisters take a trip down memory lane, exploring these emotions in ways they haven’t before. Switching between past and present, we, as the audience, are guided into their colorful memories and shown the impact that Barbie has made on female relationships and upbringings.

The film opens with Gabi and her younger sister Giada driving along the seemingly never-ending road, reminiscing on their Barbie filled childhood. From Princess and the Pauper to The Three Musketeers to A Mermaid Tale, there was never a moment in which Barbie didn’t shape their playful and chaotic youth.

~*~

As the first flashback shimmers onto the screen, we see a younger Gabi and Giada twirling around their quaint yet cozy living room, Princess and the Pauper’s “I am a Girl Like You” blaring from the older TV’s poor speaker. Gabi, being the older sister she is, chose to play Princess Annaleise, whereas younger sister Giada was forced into being a poor servant dressed in blue, Erica. Spinning around, sweeping up and over and past each other in perfect harmony, a common occurrence, a routine. The combination of giggles and musical notes fills the room with boisterous sounds, bouncing off the cream walls and ricocheting through the house. Their dad chuckles from the kitchen, watching as his two daughters entertain not only themselves but him as well.

While the song comes to a close, the girls collapse to the ground, chuckling and out of breath, clutching their stomachs in a blissful ache as the movie continues. They stand to sing and dance every now and then, erupting into yet another fit of contagious laughter—Girlhood at its finest.

~*~

Returning to the present, a swarm of pink enters the theater: best friends, mothers, daughters, sisters, and girlfriends dragging their boyfriends. The moment millions of women waited for, longed for, is finally here. A movie made for women by women. The Barbie movie.

Gabi and Giada exit their broken-down Jeep Patriot and join the crowd, a tote bag filled with hand-picked snacks and blankets slung across Giada’s shoulder. It’s important to note that movie snacks were taken very seriously in the eyes of the sisters. Bad snacks equal a bad movie going experience, and this wasn’t an experience they could afford to mess up. After scavenging the aisles of their local Walgreens, they narrowed it down to three of their top-rated candies. Haribo berry clouds and happy cherries, along with a pack of classic M&M’s. They’ve never been more prepared.

As they enter the building, the first thing thrown into their eyesight is the life-sized Barbie box. That’s right, a LIFE-SIZED Barbie box. There was only one thing they could’ve done.

Have a photoshoot.

So the montage began, Gabi and Giada posing like Barbie dolls as they traded off taking pictures of one another. Arms were bent at weird angles, and obnoxious smiles appeared on faces as they rose on their toes, camera-ready. Nostalgia swept through the air as their laughter filled the atrium, contributing to the buzz of excitement and anticipation that gripped the rooms occupants.

There was one last task to check off before heading into the theater: completing their movie snack platter. At this realization, they join the long line of people waiting for concessions, patiently waiting their turn before ordering an extra buttered popcorn and two Dr.Peppers—the perfect movie stack.

Eventually, the two sisters make their way to their seats, reclining back and setting up for the next hour and 54 minutes. Blankets lay strewn across their laps, shoes were discarded on the ground, and seat heaters warmed their bodies, leaving the duo in complete bliss.

The lights dim, the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme blares through the speakers, and a toy baby is thrown in the air. Barbie has begun.

~*~

As they start the film, we are thrown into yet another flashback. A 9-year-old Gabi is seen pulling bin after bin out from their basement storage closet, searching for the one that holds their collection of Barbie dolls and two entirely forgettable Kens. It's Giada's birthday tomorrow, and Gabi wants to surprise her by setting up their Barbie Princess castle and accessories, gifting her a day full of play and imaginative storytelling. So, she does just that. Placing beds and mini Barbie computers in their rightful places. Putting aside her eldest sister pride, Gabi promises to let Giada use her designated items, the pieces that were set aside for big sister and big sister only. How selfless!

After placing and replacing each item, Gabi eventually found an arrangement she was happy with. Standing proudly with her hands on her hips, she nods and heads to bed, unable to sleep due to her insufferable excitement.

As the sun rises, she shakes Giada awake, rushing her younger sister down the stairs, tripping over herself as if she couldn’t go fast enough. A huge grin sweeps onto Giada’s face as she sees the magical setup. Gabi hadn’t played with her as much in recent months; she was apparently “too mature” for Barbie. She had begun to miss the times when their days consisted of eating, sleeping, breathing, barbie-ing. Overall, this birthday gift was a treat and one she would cherish deeply.

So the girls played all through the day, from sundown to sunset, taking a break to swim at the public pool. The day is engraved in their memories, displayed as a time of simplicity and nostalgia—a time they desperately wish to return to.

~*~

The theater is silent. Each and every woman in that audience holds their breath, grasping at the heart-wrenchingly relatable words that pierce the soul. It is a sensation that is irreplaceable—finally, feeling seen for the injustices that have plagued our lives, our careers…our passions.

“Like, we always have to be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.” Gabi grips onto her seat as she glues her eyes to the screen, unable to look away. Her muse, Greta Gerwig, had just put into words the exact emotion that she had been feeling for years. The underappreciation of her gender and their capabilities. The frustration of feeling invisible in a world made for men—the inability to do anything without facing some scrutiny from society.

“You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory, and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out, in fact, that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.”

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that shook the audience. Never before in Gabi’s life had she experienced something so raw and vulnerable and necessary. This monologue was necessary. The light it shines on women's struggles and grievances captivates audiences, whether it be male or female—showing some sympathy to a group of people who lack the support they deserve.

This is what it is like to be a woman, and because of Gerwig, the world will finally know that.

Gabi released a breath she didn’t know she was holding, feeling her shoulders sink as if a one-hundred-pound weight had just been removed. Her heart swelled in appreciation for Greta Gerwig. Oh, how she loved her and her feminist plots.

Slowly but surely, the tension in the theater dissolved as the Barbies formed their master plan, continuing the film with lighthearted fun. Chuckles resumed, the sisters laughing along with the rest of the audience, moving on yet still holding the life-changing monologue they had just witnessed dear.

~*~

Entering one final flashback, we see an older Gabi and Giada standing in the corner of their Aunt's living room, watching their little cousins play with their brand-new Barbie dolls. They remember the excitement and thrill of forcing Dad to open the package because they couldn't figure out how to. Pleading with him, promising it would be the last one. Spoiler alert: it was never the last one.

Taking a moment to reflect on their girlhood, they can’t help but feel at a loss. Gabi had thrown away that phase of childhood too soon, whereas Giada had done her all to keep hold of the little girl she was still at heart. It's easy to forget just how good you have it when you’re little. The days of endless play in the sun, grass stains, and scooters hitting their ankles are nothing but a mere memory of their past.

The two sisters smiled at each other, silently acknowledging the days they left behind before joining the little girls on the floor. Those days of naivety may be over for them, but for the two girls sitting cross-legged on the ground, grinning ear to ear in pure joy, there are many more memories to be made.

~*~

Returning to the present, the sisters exit the theater looking at each other, bewildered by the film they had just watched. They loved it. Every second, every minute, every scene. They loved everything about the Barbie movie.

As they make their way back to their banged-up Jeep, they laugh about the insanity that was the Barbie movie. They had no expectations going into it, but what they had experienced was never considered. “I’m Just Ken” had them rolling in laughter, weird Barbie had them reflecting on their questionable DIY doll hair salon days, and Barbie's irrepressible thoughts about death and cellulite came out of nowhere. Who knew Barbie was thinking about death that much?

Hopping into the car, they crank the music and drive off, never-ending laughter filling the Jeep. Ceaseless roads stretch out before them as their car rolls along the pavement, driving into the soundless night—the end.

An Ode to Beautiful Feelings is chaotic and, quite frankly, all over the place, but it is authentic. The experiences of the two sisters, along with the constant flashbacks, draw the audience in and allow for their story to be told in full. A diverse range of emotions and themes like nostalgia and sisterhood all explored through the medium of memories. It is by no means concise or perfect, but it is theirs.

About the Author:

Gabrielle Grimes is an undergraduate student at Iowa State University, studying English & Women and Gender Studies. She is an aspiring writer moving toward publishing her reflective and self-evaluative works.