Long ago, I wanted to list some great comedic wordplay, such as Gary Gulman’s “State Abbreviation” bit and Brian Regan’s “Tennis Scoring” bit. This list was to include Brian Scott McFadden’s “What Women Want.”

After listing these exact three bits, reminding myself that I am not an ultimate standup aficionado, I moved on.
Surely someone else could make a better list.

Recently, I watched the Barbie (2023) movie. To avoid sounding like Ben Shapiro giving a cringe hour long rant, I’ll only mention two things:

1. Barbie occasionally discusses death. It felt out of place.

2. The “big speech” ripped off Brian Scott McFadden’s bit.

I’ll address my 2nd point only.

Here’s part of McFadden’s bit, taken from his album version:

What do women want? That’s the question men keep asking. …

One of the problems is that all women seem to want contradictory things in a man.
It’s a biological thing. …

Women want a man who is ambitious, an achiever, who is successful, both professionally and financially.
Who’s not materialistic.

Women want a man who is solid, steady, consistent and reliable.
Who is fun, unpredictable and spontaneous.

Women want a strong willed and decisive man, who takes a stand and doesn’t waver. Yes.
As long as he’s flexible, open minded and can admit when he’s wrong.

Anybody starting to see a pattern here?
Yeah, me neither.

Brian nails the wordplay. Go listen to the rest!

Now here’s the flipped speech from the Barbie movie. It’s Gloria’s speech, if we’re being technical (we are).

It is literally impossible to be a woman. …

Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.

You have to be thin, but not too thin.
And you can never say you want to be thin.

You have to say you want to be healthy,
but also you have to be thin.

You have to have money,
but you can't ask for money because that's crass.

You have to be a boss,
but you can't be mean.

You have to lead,
but you can't squash other people's ideas.

You're supposed to love being a mother,
but don't talk about your kids all the damn time.

Unlike McFadden’s bit, there is no laughter from the audience. In my theater, one or two clapped.

Since comedian Amy Schumer was originally cast for the role of Barbie, it’s hard to imagine the writers did not know McFadden’s classic bit. Did they credit him? Who knows. Maybe Amy was concerned about being (falsely) accused of stealing jokes… again.

Both speeches are about the perception of gender norms. Yet the response differs. Why is it comedy when women (allegedly) want men to be two contradictory things, but drama when women are wanted to be contradictory two things?

Setting is one factor. What else?

Maybe someone will make the sexist point that men laugh over duality, while women struggle with it. I am not making that point. Rather, I’ll say that the movie was correct in pointing out double standards in regards to gender. The movie was also right to take a stance that all people, regardless of gender, should define themselves without their partner.

I am simply making a comparison, hoping a reader will comment on what makes these so different.