James Cameron Praises ‘Barbie’ Monologue To Greta Gerwig: “You Basically Sum Up Thousands Of Years Of The Female Dilemma In One Minute”

When writer-directors James Cameron and Greta Gerwig came together for a Variety interview recently, Cameron was effusive in his praise of Gerwig’s Barbie, a film that he says “hit the mark so perfectly” when it comes to expressing what it means to be a woman.

As their conversation began, the Avatar auteur told Gerwig that one of his favorite moments in the film was the speech given by America Ferrera‘s character, Gloria, about the struggles and judgment faced by women.

“You basically sum up thousands of years of the female dilemma in one minute. I don’t think it’s ever been done as succinctly and hit the mark so perfectly,” Cameron told Gerwig, per Variety.

In the speech, which begins, “It is literally impossible to be a woman,” Gloria describes all the ways in which women are made to suffer for not feeling adequate in any of the roles they play in society as mothers, daughters, workers, and lovers.

Cameron went on to laud Gerwig for how the film manages to pull on the heartstrings, despite having so much comedy embedded within: “If you can’t cry at your own movie, how do you expect millions of people to cry?” Cameron said. “You have to be a movie fan first when you’re looking at your own stuff.”

He continued, “If you get too intellectual, you’re going to come up with something that may be quite artistic, but it won’t be heartfelt. The triumph of Barbie is how heartfelt it is.”

Cameron also praised Ryan Gosling for his portrayal of Ken.

“He was incredibly brave as Ken,” Cameron told Gerwig, who responded that she wrote the role specifically for Gosling, adding, “He came to rehearsals, and I saw him and Margot [Robbie], and I had a moment where I looked at the two of them acting together and thought, I want to watch this movie.”

If you also want to watch this movie, Barbie is now available to stream on Max.