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Have you gotten your pink manicure yet? Or started your rewatch of all the animated Barbie movies? (Starting with the 2001 classic Barbie in the Nutcracker, of course). My pink strawberry candle is burning as I type this, and it's all for good reason: it's finally Barbie month! This incredible summer movie is almost here and writer-director Greta Gerwig just gave us some brand new info about the Barbie movie plot. Potential spoiler warning ahead!
(L-r) RYAN GOSLING as Ken and MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gerwig talks about the movie's bright colors, audience reactions, and her leads: Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
While discussing Ryan's comedic acting skills, Greta actually credits way more than his comedic timing or getting a laugh out of the audience: "The way we talked about Ken was as in-depth character work as I’ve ever done with anyone about anything."
"When they were shooting their last scene together, in the bedroom where they’re kind of coming to a place of understanding, and when he turns around and says, 'There is no just Ken, it’s Barbie and Ken,'" she continues. "He’s exhausted and his face is stained with tears — I’m like, if what actors do is perform empathetic acts for our benefit, I don’t know that anyone has ever invested more in making people understand the plight of this man."
If I'm completely honest, the thought of Ryan Gosling as Ken crying during a conversation with Margot Robbie's Barbie terrifies me. It sounds like it could be a reconciliation as they move into the future, or Ken telling Barbie that he doesn't want to lose her. But I do know that when Ryan cries, I cry. (That's #Kenergy, baby).
BARBIE - LA PRESS JUNKET PHOTO CALL JUNE 25, 2023 - Ryan Gosling and Actor/Producer Margot Robbie attend the BARBIE Press Junket Photo Call at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA
Image via Eric Charbonneau/Warner Bros
In addition to Greta's interview, we can also make inferences about the plot from the British Board of Film Classification, a board that age rates films in the U.K.. Via Variety, we know they gave Barbie a 12A rating due to “bleeped strong language,” “moderate innuendo” and “dangerous behavior” (maybe this refers to how Barbie's car flips in the trailer?) Not to mention the “comic fight scenes” and “occasional verbal references to death and mental health.”
As we've seen with Lady Bird and Little Women, Greta Gerwig is a master at balancing heart and emotion with comedy and commentary, bringing together a bunch of different aspects of the human experience. Because she works with so many different themes, her movies hold both unique and universal meanings to everyone who sees them. Thank goodness for that.
What do you hope happens in the Barbie plot? Let us know on Facebook and check out the next stop on the Barbie World Tour!
Image via Hanna Lassen/Getty Images
