Ryan Gosling Reveals Reason He Said Yes to Playing Ken

This sounds like it's going to be utterly awful, and the pretentiousness with which Ryan Gosling explains that he accepted the role because 'the story must be told' and 'the pain of seeing that Ken is just an accessory' is RIDICULOUS. There is very little substance to Barbie and the characters in her orbit, and unless they try to turn this into some sort of pseudo-intellectual anthropological analysis on gender, class and race, it will be about as shallow as a puddle of water.

And regarding Gosling's self-important attitude, all I can say is: honey, you are too ugly to play Ken - accept it and be grateful for the fact that you've been promoted as handsome for so long, when you're clearly not.

I really want Greta and Noah to hit the skids.

“And even though I’m in my forties, I won’t be blink at grabbing the role that belongs to someone two decades younger.”

He looks goofy AF.

Can’t wait to see it. Love Ryan and Margo. I think they were named after Barbie’s Best Friends in real life.

FUGLY

Reasons he said yes? Thirst…for continued relevance and money. These boys all love getting in tip-top shape and then offering their torsos up for a feeding frenzy.

I can think of $12.5 million reasons Ryan played Ken 🙄

Greta Gerwig? Why did the indie darling take this project? Is it tongue-in-cheek?

Or plain old greed?

In my head, I keep getting this confused with the time Freddie Prinze Jr played Fred in the Scooby Doo movie.

I can't imagine anyone over the age of 10 who would want to see this.

Toy Story III writers, animators and cast managed to do what I would have said was impossible.

They made Barbie and Ken relatable and funny.

This, yeah, not really feeling it.

He is unattractive to me generally. I do not understand AT ALL how he is a sex symbol, aside from his body. I find his face...odd under normal circumstances. The bleached hair makes him look "very special" to me. The photos of him rollerblading make me imagine him as a Special Olympics athlete, to be honest.

Margot Robbie, on the other hand, looks like Barbie after several breast reductions.

I get most 'sexiest men,' even if I don't entirely agree. Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Idris Elba and so on—all are objectively attractive.

Why do I have this disconnect with Gosling? I can't even call him homely exactly; he looks to me kind of like a Mr. Potatohead whose facial features were arranged in a strange way for mixed comic and disturbing effect. How do people objectify him as the hottest of all men?

R14 a combination of his body, which is quite beautiful, and his passivity, which for some people makes a person seem inviting in a physical way.

He was perfect in Blade Runner because he acted like a sentient object, which is the definition of a sex symbol. "Touch me all you want - I will not protest."

r14 He hits the mathematical marks for American attraction... more simply, it's the asymmetrical proportions of his face that match up to previous heart throbs even if they look nothing alike.

It leaves him rather babyfaced... so, usually, people can overlook the stupidity and the vainity, however the film's styling ages him by ten years and he reads like an over the hill "twink" or any snotty waiter you had that was trained as an ack-tor but turned themselves out for gay porn - it's still acting - and that little drug problem they have.

[quote]This sounds like it's going to be utterly awful

No one is expecting this to be great cinema, dear.

It looks fun.

^ I should clarify teenage heart throbs. Although there are a couple on your list that qualify for this area as well... like Brad, he has many a ho dickmatized. More by his eyes than johnson but the same still applies.

No R17, this is a Great Gerwig film, an up and coming director and writer. The script is rumored to be excellent. It was good enough and Gerwig is hot enough to land two of the hottest youngish stars currently working. It’s expected to be more than fluff.

So you guys do find him genuinely sexy?

I have honestly always assumed he was one of those actors studio marketing execs decided to push on the public as "IT" and "sexiest" despite a lack of attractiveness and a lack of charisma. Those efforts are constant and they usually fail. I assumed this was one instance of it working, with the promoters telling us he is hot somehow overcoming what the eyes actually see.

I guess my brain's processors are just wired differently than most people's if people honestly look at him and see a gorgeous man. He looks almost Down's-y to me.

If ever there was a part perfect for one actor it would be Matt B as Ken.

Like Christopher Reeve as Superman, Matt looks like Ken . This kind of movie doesn't really require a lot of acting skills anyway.

Ryan looks strange and Rob Lowe is too old.

r20 Downs-y appeals to most str8 teen girls and gays, and really, most str8 guys (as to their reactions to other males, not to be confused with body image.) as well. . . especially in this age, like consider Ryan Reynolds as well.

It's why all the teen heart throbs look like they ride the short bus to school... and far too often written into the majority of their characters to be the attractive bad boy that's angry at the world because he can't read and if you show him the gift of poetry, you can change his nature and win his heart forevah!

However, if you were into much older men (by a teen's perspective, which is say in his mid 30s to 40s), you were more likely to desire faces that have greater symmetry. (though incidentally, it's also when it comes to the opposite sex str8 teen males are more likely to find slightly older women attractive than their female peers. And yes, you'd have to say repeatedly, "my eyes are up here")

It's like modeling which takes that to the extremes.

symmetry = commercial, ready to wear

asymmetrical = haute couture

incidentally, Ryan Gosling is one of the more popular figures used as a model for discussing asymmertrical faces in men and theorizing on t's attractiveness.

r21 the problem is casting is thinking "attractive" by today's conventions

than realizing that ken is an old 'gay' beefcake model. . . but just not as obsessed as muscle man action figures are.

Gosling is homely, his chin is too long.

Lots of hate will be received because Ken And Barbie aren't black.

They both seem to old to play Barbie and Ken. Or at least look it.

Never mind Gosling; Miss Greta Gerwig is a mediocre monstrosity who must be stopped. I despise her work, and want justice for Jennifer Jason Leigh!

Justin Bieber would be a living Ken if he didn't have all that gross ink.

When I think of Ken, I imagine someone who looks like Kellan Lutz, but then when I look at an actual Ken doll, he's more of a twunk than a bodybuilder type.

Ken Bieber

Early 00s gay model Ethan Reynolds had the right look. Seeing them all side by side, Gosling looks positively derpy.

Cannot stand his smug, punchable face.

[quote] Ryan Gosling explains that he accepted the role because 'the story must be told' and 'the pain of seeing that Ken is just an accessory' is RIDICULOUS.

LOL! It is actually HILARIOUS. You sound like some cranky old constipated male.

Of course it will be a take on sexual roles and the existentialism of Barbie and women in our culture. I hope she pulls it off because it could be a great story.

[quote] There is very little substance to Barbie and the characters in her orbit

Yes. That is the entire point. That is how they were portrayed. That is how women and girls were portrayed by a male dominated world. But girls didn't feel that way about their Barbies.

Get a clue, Himbo.

Every time I made Barbie and Ken have sex, she was on the bottom. Was that wrong?

In human form, Ken would never allow himself to have such a bad nose. So this casting is suspect. Unless they wanted a Bizarro World version of Ken where his face is mangled.

If he's Ken, then Barbie should be played by Lady Gaga. 🥴

Lady Gaga is too short, fat, and ugly to play Barbie.

R36 That's the point, Dear. Ryan Gosling is too old and wonky looking to play Ken, unless the movie's origin story of Ken is that some kid set him down on a grill during a cookout and half his face melted.

What did Gerwig do to Jennifer Jason Leigh? Love the latter, find the former unbearable, and cannot understand the fascination with her. There are far more talented people in Hollywood, but she's the darling?

For me, Ladybird was like watching a foreign movie without subtitles.

Greta is exclusively for white suburban women. If you don’t relate to them, she will go over your head.

That’s why so many people are confused why people find her so incredible, it’s cause they’re not white suburban women lol.

White urban gay man here.

I liked Ladybird. I thought it was a good small independent film of the sort I miss from the 1990s.

I think it warranted nomination because better movies are rarely made today. That's the problem.

It was a relief to me to see a movie like that in this everything-superhero era. I think it's a good quiet movie. I don't think it's especially profound or transcendent or worthy of Best Picture except in an era when well-written movies about human beings who aren't immortal and can't fly or zap people are the norm.

If Lady Bird were put up against TV series like The White Orchid, Hacks, Severance, Foundation, Succession et al., it would not deserve a prize. Today's TV is superior to today's movies by a long shot unless you're an absolute comic book fanatic.

Reminds me of Lloyd Bridges with those close-set eyes.

[quote] That's the point, Dear. Ryan Gosling is too old and wonky looking to play Ken,

I thought the film was about these dolls later in life. Like Ken's a loser and Barbie is a successful business woman or something.

Despite Gosling's less than perfect face, I was surprised how endearing and sexy he was on screen.

I would give Ken a home, and several jobs.