Barbie is kicking it old school during her Barbie Truck Totally Throwback Tour, which rolls into San Antonio on Saturday, February 8. The truck will park at the Shops at La Cantera, not far from Barnes & Noble, so fans of all ages can peruse merchandise and mingle with other Barbie lovers.
As mentioned, this tour is a "throwback" and promises a '90s theme and "retro-inspired merchandise," a devastating thought for those of us who grew up in the 1990s and still can't quite grasp that the decade is now considered "retro."
Attendees can swing by the bright pink truck and snag Barbie-themed merchandise, including limited-edition upcycled jackets, denim "dad caps" and jackets, T-shirts, cosmetic bags, and necklaces.
In keeping with the retro theme, the Barbie van will also features '90s fashion staples such as vinyl iridescent fanny packs and boombox-shaped totes, embroidered patch sets, and cassette tape wallets. According to a release, the items available for purchase are priced between $12-$75.
The San Antonio stop is part of a three-year tour across the U.S., a trek that began in Los Angeles last fall. After San Antonio, the truck rolls on to Plano.
Mattel, the company behind Barbie, has faced increasing backlash in recent years as the discussion on body type, race, and gender inclusivity continues. According to a release, the tour is an integral of the brand's 60th anniversary celebration and likely part of Mattel's attempt to redefine the iconic brand for a new generation of American children and their parents.
The truck is free to check out and will be open at La Cantera from 10 am-7 pm. And do note that the Barbie truck may be retro, but it only accepts credit and debit cards.
Jackets, bags, and more merchandise are available for purchase.
Photo courtesy of the Barbie Totally Throwback Tour
Jackets, bags, and more merchandise are available for purchase.
Music biopics never seem to go out of style, although they’re rarely very good because most of them tend to tell the same story. A musician/band gets discovered, rises to popularity, experiences trouble at their peak due to (insert sex/drugs/alcohol/ego), and either finds a measure of redemption once they’ve been sufficiently humbled or dies due to their lack of control.
Paradoxically, what few music biopics fail to do is properly showcase the music that made the person popular in the first place, a mistake that A Complete Unknown doesn’t repeat, becoming a smashing success in the process. The film follows Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) over a roughly four-year period from when he first arrived in New York City in 1961 to his then-revolutionary electric set at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.
Dylan seeks out well-known folk singers Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and an ailing Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) when he first arrives, with Seeger taking him under his wing. Dylan starts to establish himself in the local club scene with his unique songwriting voice, meeting fellow singer Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), with whom he starts an on-and-off relationship. As his popularity grows, his reaction is antithetical to what’s expected, as he rarely engages with fans and focuses on his next song(s) instead of the ones for which he became known.
Directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line) and written by Mangold and Jay Cocks, the film may not be much of a revelation for Dylan superfans, but for casual fans or those who know nothing about him, it is one of the most effective music biopics in recent memory, if not ever. Not only does Mangold track the musical evolution of Dylan, but he gives the full context of the people who influenced him most, including Guthrie, Seeger, Baez, and more.
The film is not a musical in the traditional sense, but the amount of music in it makes it the next best thing. Rarely does more than a few minutes go by before someone is singing, either on stage, for someone close to them, or as part of the songwriting process. Whether you’re a folk music fan or not, the way the genre is showcased in the film will make you believe in its power and why it was so popular at that particular point in time.
Dylan is famous for his enigmatic personality, and Mangold does a great job of maintaining that elusiveness while still exploring what drove Dylan early in his career. His relationships with Baez and the fictional Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) give him some dimension, but why he continually went back-and-forth between them (or why they put up with him) is only lightly explored. The film keeps most of the drama focused on the music, and it’s this decision that makes it as compelling as it is.
Chalamet has been “The Next Big Thing” since his Oscar nomination for Call Me By Your Name, but the combination of the Duneseries, Wonka, and now this has firmly established him as the star he is. His Dylan impersonation (including singing) is subtle-yet-clear, and he has the cool factor that makes him completely believable in the role. The supporting cast is also off-the-charts good, with Norton and Barbaro making the best cases for awards notice.
While 2024 has had its fair share of great movies, A Complete Unknown — in this critic’s opinion — should now be the favorite to win Best Picture at next year’s Oscars. It bucks the trend of mediocre music biopics by giving moviegoers the transporting feeling of what it was like to experience Dylan’s meteoric rise, and why his early songs remain so indelible.