Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Barbie, BFI, Wow

January 13, 2024 6:51 PM

I've watched a LOT of stuff related to Barbie. Panels and interviews and contrived videos... but I'm going to say that Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera on Barbie | BFI in conversation [40m] is the single most grounded, real-feeling conversation I've seen. Ryan and America seem to be sitting with a small group of friends talking about this experience they both went through, and it just feels so honest and bare and naked... Hard to describe, great to experience.
posted by hippybear (9 comments total)

I loved this! And I teared up a couple of times as America was recounting her experiences. Thank you so much for posting this.
posted by tinydancer at 9:59 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]

I have said there is Method acting and then there's whatever Ryan Gosling did to play Ken. I think he's just permanently Ken now. Bless him. (I have watched the "I'm Just Ken" sequence way too many time to count. No shame.)

I have said this elsewhere but I'm not sure if I said it on this site, but when Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird was released, there was a weird current of "this is a ripoff of Real Women Have Curves" because there can only be one movie ever about a teen girl having a conflict with her mother (I've seen both and I don't find them to be that similar, honestly, beyond the surface).

But Gerwig putting America Ferrera in this part is ... 100% perfection. I didn't see her as saying "Yes, I ripped off that movie" but just "we all have our experiences and I'm acknowledging yours."

Barbie isn't perfect (but I love it!) but it's such a moment. It's a movie that's smarter and weirder than it needs to be. And it's also just so much fun. I think that's ultimately my takeaway from this movie -- it's a fun time.

(I saw it twice in theaters and I really never do that.)

I'm glad everyone seemed to have a good time making this.
posted by edencosmic at 11:38 PM on January 13 [10 favorites]

Ryan was always Ken. He just hadn’t given himself permission to let it out; trying to distance himself from his musketeer / dance troupe past. Here’s a neat profile.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:15 AM on January 14 [6 favorites]

Here’s another good take - how much life Ryan breathed into Ken, making a character that didn’t exist before and is now a template against which other performances will be judged. Another word for that is “iconic” and I don’t throw that term around.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:19 AM on January 14 [6 favorites]

I've liked every performance and movie that I've seen Gosling in. He was understatedly excellent in Blade Runner. I can't imagine that being played by anyone else.
posted by SoberHighland at 11:04 AM on January 14 [1 favorite]

You must, and I can not stress this kenough, immediately watch the behind the scenes version of I'm just Ken that shows how much was practical and how much fun they had filming it.
posted by autopilot at 12:15 PM on January 14 [3 favorites]

My positive regard for the Gos is eternal, but I find his performances hit or miss. Like in Lars and the real girl, he always looks like he’s smirking behind the character and it was extremely off putting. Yet La la land was the consummate charming love story. However. If you have not seen his turn in Half Nelson, for which he had been academy award nominated, add it to the must watch list. I think it was his best performance, even over Ken.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 4:32 PM on January 14

During the interview Ken mentions America's TED talk (YT), and it's worth watching— her energy and passion is very reminiscent of her big monologue in Barbie.
posted by dougfelt at 11:31 PM on January 14 [1 favorite]

During the interview Ken mentions

Who?

Who mentions this?
posted by hippybear at 6:46 PM on January 15 [1 favorite]