Something broke in Ryan Gosling with Barbie, and it’s been beautiful for us all. The actor, who has bounced back and forth between comedy and drama through most of his career, has become unhinged this last year. Why? Well, it’s the Ken of it all.
Playing the Ken to Margot Robbie’s Barbie in the Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach film seems to have unleashed something hidden deep inside Gosling. Granted, many of us knew it was there. We have seen The Nice Guys. What has been extremely special about his post-Ken life has been seeing how much he’s embraced the Kenergy still.
To celebrate our love of Ken, his emotional rendition of “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie, and the love that we all have for the movie, Gosling joined up with Mark Ronson, who helped bring the music of the film to life, to do a special version of the song to us for the holiday season. Is this a new take on the song with new lyrics? No, not at all. But there are Christmas lights and Ryan Gosling did do his hair, as he tells Ronson, so it is a special take on “I’m Just Ken” for “Merry Kristmas Barbie” to just ring in the holiday season!
Released by Atlantic Records, the video is very funny if you, like me, love Gosling’s band Dead Man’s Bones. Do I wish that this would be the announcement of his return to making music? Obviously, but this is genuinely a perfect way to bring in the holiday season. It’s hilarious, wonderful, and something I will watch all year long.
He’s just Ken
What has been the joy of the summer (and now holiday season) is Gosling’s dedication to the immaculate vibes of “I’m Just Ken.” The song itself is Ken’s dream ballet of sorts. He just wants to figure out exactly what he’s going through. He’s trying to navigate his own feelings for Barbie in the midst of not knowing what the patriarchy did to Barbie Land and why it isn’t working on his Barbie. His dream fight sequence with the other Ken (Simu Liu) was a treat for us all.
This more rockstar version of the song is Gosling’s updated take on it. And I do love his concern about people not watching it after the holidays have come and gone. Personally, I don’t think that will be a problem, seeing how obsessed we are with the original version of the song, but hey, we just love to explore everything Ken has to offer, and I do plan on now watching the Kristmas version of “I’m Just Ken” every single year. Mainly for how seriously Ryan Gosling takes this song. The “Can you feel the Kenergy” bit was pretty fantastic, too.
As he says at the end, Merry Kristmas, Barbie. Wherever you are.
(featured image: Atlantic Records/screengrabbed from YouTube)
