Ross: Barbie movie is a story of acceptance for all ages, genders

I saw the Barbie movie over the weekend, and before I go any further, I want to make a few things clear upfront.

I have a soft spot for rejected toys. I consider Puff the Magic Dragon to be the saddest song ever written, and I was hazed by the boys in high school gym class, so I went into the movie already prejudiced against Ken.

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Plus, I was getting over a terrible cold and was already stuffed up.

So, while I expected the message of female empowerment, I did not expect the effect this movie would have on me as a non-female.

Maybe it was the experience of helping raise two daughters and now watching their daughters grow up, but I was unable to maintain a demeanor of manliness for pretty much the whole thing.

Seeing the Mattel corporation run by Will Ferrell, especially in a movie the company co-produced, at least gave me a chance to catch my breath because it is fundamentally a comedy.

But by the end, the theme of just accepting people (and toys) for who they are, left me so overcome emotionally and post-nasally that I had to go to the men’s room during the credits to freshen up before the lights came back on.

I didn’t want my wife of 49 years and 11 months to see me like that, especially at a Barbie Movie.

Anyway, I just had to tell someone, so I can’t be blackmailed, and I appreciate your indulgence.

More about the plot, I cannot say except go see it before someone running for President tries to ban it or Congress demands a crackdown on dolls without genitals.

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