Barbie director Greta Gerwig has revealed in a new interview that she had to cut a “fart opera” out of the film following screen tests.
Speaking to IndieWire, Gerwig and the film’s editor Nick Houy shared that across the three films (Lady Bird, Little Women, Barbie) they have worked on together, they always try to sneak in a fart joke, but none of the jokes have ever made the final cut of the film.
Barbie proved to be no different, Gerwig explained, saying: “We’ve always tried to get in a proper fart joke and we’ve never done it. We had like a fart opera in the middle [of Barbie]. I thought it was really funny. And that was not the consensus.”
“It was in the wrong place, too,” Houy said. “We need to work it into a more significant narrative moment next time.” It is currently unclear where the “fart opera” would have fit into the film.
Houy expanded on their decision to cut the scene out of the film: “We were just, like, ‘Let’s put it in front of people and see how they react.’ Everyone’s different and every screening’s different and we’ve definitely learned, over the years, that you really have to let things have their fair chance and then act accordingly. Once you know it’s dead, you have got to get it out of there.”
Barbie arrived in cinemas on July 21 and stars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Dua Lipa, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Sharon Rooney and more.
Barbie earned a four-star review, with NME‘s Alex Flood writing: “The script contains unexpected subtlety, particularly during the tender moments which pack an emotional punch. Gerwig is clever enough to deliver these with self-awareness and some sarcastic jokes, meaning the balance between reality and commercial is never lost. For a movie that ostensibly exists to promote a doll, this is laudable. Now come on Barbie, let’s go party.”
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