Critics Choice Awards a victory for Barbie as America Ferrera gives rousing speech and Chelsea Handler declares 'year of the woman'

In some ways, Barbie is defined by America Ferrera’s monologue in which she gives voice to the impossible contradicting standards women are expected to live up to.

That’s one of the things people remember the most about the movie. That’s what’s captured the imaginations of many.

And that’s what, as Australian actor Margot Robbie said at the Critics Choice Awards, drama students are probably rehearsing in class.

Robbie presented Ferrera with the SeeHer Award at the 29th annual Critics Choice Awards held in Santa Monica, California, on Sunday local time.

And the critics are saying Ferrera’s Barbie monologue wasn’t a fluke, following her rousing speech at the awards show.

“I yearned to see people like myself on screen as full humans,” Ferrera said after urging the autocue operator to start rolling and then keep up.

“When I started working over 20 years ago, that seemed impossible.

“It seemed impossible that anyone could make a career of portraying fully dimensional Latina characters.

“But because of writers, directors, producers and executives that were daring enough to hear and to challenge deeply entrenched biases … some of my fellow Latina colleagues have been supremely blessed to have brought to life some fierce and fantastic women.”

Ferrera went on to say that everyone should feel represented in film.

“To me, this is the best and highest use of storytelling,” she said.

“To affirm one another’s full humanity.

“To uphold the truth that we are all worthy of being seen — black, brown, Indigenous, Asian, trans, disabled, any body type, any gender.

“We are all worthy of having our lives richly and authentically reflected.”

Ferrera thanked Barbie director Greta Gerwig for her mastery as a filmmaker and showing that “unabashedly telling female stories does not diminish your powers, it expands them”.

Ferrera also had a lot to say about her Barbie co-star and the movie’s producer, Robbie, saying cinematic greatness and box office history could exist at the same time.

“Margot, you saw value in Barbie,” Ferrera said.

“An entirely female idea that most would have dismissed as too girly, too frivolous or just too problematic.”

Robbie sang Ferrera’s praises too.

“Off-screen, she is remarkably grounded, surprisingly silly, seemingly unaffected by the talent she possesses, and always, always on the right side of a cause,” Robbie said of Ferrera.

While outlining the roles Ferrera’s played, Ugly Betty and Real Women Have Curves among them, Robbie said Ferrera had and continued to make a difference.

“She blazed a trail for Latina actresses while teaching everyone we are so much more than what we think we are,” Robbie said of Ferrera’s Ugly Betty Emmy win.

Ferrera remains the only Latina actress to win an Emmy – that was for Ugly Betty in 2007.

“I imagine being the first in any field can be isolating. I imagine it puts an enormous pressure on you to be perfect, to play it safe,” Robbie said.

“But what I admire the most about America is how she has handled that pressure while never being afraid to continue to speak the truth when it counts the most.”

Barbie’s award for best comedy was not televised, but Gerwig and Robbie were invited on stage to give an acceptance speech.

“We just wanted to make each other laugh and we’re so happy we made the world laugh too,” Gerwig said.

The SeeHer Award has been around since 2017 and celebrates women who portray authentic characters who push boundaries, while also advocating for gender equality.

Viola Davis (2017) and Halle Berry (2022) are among the previous recipients.

Barbie’s I’m Just Ken won Best Song, with the songwriters accepting the award. Ryan Gosling, who sings it, was named as a recipient, but stayed seated, clapping enthusiastically.

Chelsea Handler references Jo Koy’s much maligned hosting of Golden Globes

It’s safe to say the audience was in a much better mood at the Critics Choice Awards than they were at the Golden Globes last week, with host Chelsea Handler making a reference to comedian Joy Koy hosting the Globes.

After stating that she preferred older men in the same way Leonardo DiCaprio favours younger women, Handler said: “Unfortunately, Martin Scorsese isn’t here tonight, but that’s not going to stop me from letting everyone in this room know that I would toss him around like a little Italian meatball.”

She went on to acknowledge the laughter in the room – and her writers – as Koy did, but in a different way.

“Thank you for laughing at that,” she said.

“My writers wrote it.”

Handler also declared it the “year of the woman”.

“Women were victorious in all venues,” she said.

“Barbie at the box office, Taylor Swift and Beyonce with their tours, Gwyneth Paltrow and her ski trial,” she joked.

Paltrow was found by a jury to be not at fault for a 2016 ski collision at a Utah ski resort after a complaint by retired optometrist Terry Sanderson was dismissed.

Another good night for Australians

Australians Sarah Snook and Elizabeth Debicki won awards; Snook for Succession and Debicki for playing Princess Diana in The Crown.

Debicki thanked her co-star Khalid Abdalla who played Dodi Fayed. She also extolled the virtues of the late Princess Diana.

“This role has been an incredible gift to me,” she said.

“And it’s been an incredible challenge, which was a terrifying challenge. And I will always be grateful for it.

“My only hope really was that I would do this remarkable woman, incredible, glorious, human proud.”