Ryan Gosling's Ken Has 'No Money, No Job, No Car, No House' In Barbie
Barbie's boyfriend Ken has a lot going on in his life. He has had over 40 professions, from doctor to babysitter, and seems to have a very busy social calendar. Ken looks like he's having a really great time from the outside, but I guess you never know what someone is dealing with.
In the new "Barbie" film, Ken is played by Ryan Gosling, and he's apparently having a rough patch. According to an interview Gosling did with ET (via Variety), all is not well, despite the cheery exterior, fun accessories, and fabulous hair. Gosling spoke to the site about his upcoming film "The Gray Man," which has him playing a former CIA agent who is now being hunted by an old colleague. That sounds like a rough gig, but Gosling thinks that Ken is having a more difficult time, saying, "That Ken life is even harder than the 'Gray Man' life, I think. Ken's got no money, he's got no job, he's got no car, he's got no house. He's going through some stuff."
While this may be true, he's certainly looking fabulous in his photo. It's all about his "Ken-ergy," as Gosling says in the interview. So, what's going on with poor Ken that has him in this dire situation?
Sadly, we don't know much about the film's story yet, and Gosling says he can't say much more because "Mattel will come in and box me up." Do you hear that, toy collectors? Ken wants to be free from that box!
Is being made of plastic not all that fantastic, Ken?
Gosling reveals very little but does give a hint that we shouldn't assume we know what's coming. He said of the plot, "It's not what you think it is, unless it is. And then you know what it is, but I don't think that's what you think it is. Wait, what are we talking about?"
There have been rumors, according to Variety, that the Greta Gerwig-directed film is a "fish-out-of-water" comedy, and that Ken and Barbie (Margot Robbie) are "lost in the real world." That's not a lot to go on, though we do know that there will be more than one Ken, with "Shang-Chi" star Simu Liu playing another version. Was there a multiverse broken open somewhere that spilled Ken(s), Barbie, and their friends into Earth-616? (Sorry, wrong franchise.) Have Ken and Barbie ended up here, just to have a toy line designed around them? This is 100% speculation on my part. I'm invested.
I've never been a big fan of the dolls, but I love Gerwig's sense of humor. Given that Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Issa Rae, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Michael Cera, Ncuti Gatwa (our new Doctor Who), Rhea Perlman, Emerald Fennell (who wrote and directed "Promising Young Woman"), Alexandra Shipp, Hari Nef, and Kate McKinnon have all signed on, I'm not worried about the tone. The photos alone have made me excited to see a film about a plastic doll with unrealistic proportions which, on its own, is a minor miracle.
"Barbie" will hit theaters on July 21, 2023.