There are a lot of messages that people can take away from co-writer/director Greta Gerwig’s now certified mega-hit Barbie, and a good number of takeaways from the socially conscious dramedy come from Ryan Gosling’s Ken. At least, that’s the consensus that was reached when the cast sat down to talk about the film in recent interviews. While there are many facets to this horse-obsessed boy toy, everyone can agree that Kenergy is something we should all aspire to... with some careful thought, of course.
CinemaBlend’s own Hannah Saulic interviewed Greta Gerwig and her Barbie cast during a junket earlier this summer that took place before the current SAG-AFTRA strike. As you can see, those talks generated a ton of takes involving the message of just what it means to be Kenough.
Starting with actor America Ferrara, it’s clear that by the end of the film, both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling’s Mattel created figures are inspirational for their own reasons. From her viewpoint, this is what Ferrara saw as the takeaway from this now $1 billion dream hit:
No, you totally want to be a Ken. We need more Kens. I mean, we need Ken by the end, we need, like, liberated Kens. Like, you know, it's about like all of us getting to be all the things that we are.
That’s not a point that undercuts the soul searching journey of Barbie’s titular protagonist. That’s a point that Greta Gerwig herself could attest to, as during this same interview she went over how she felt the picture’s ending was a win for both Barbie and Ken. Said Gerwig about both of her leads and their personal goals,
I think that that is like her journey and his journey, and that's where they come to with each other by the end that, you know, they each evolve in their own way and that Barbie Land improves because it becomes a more egalitarian place. I think it's like, I want to be speaking to men and women.
Greta Gerwig’s work on movies like Lady Bird and Little Women have given the film world more of the strong willed, clear voiced female figures it needs. This is also reflected in how Barbie’s ending was developed, right down to its killer final punchline that speaks to womanhood. Gerwig has given modern audiences a moment reminiscent of one of the best comedy endings in history: the final moments of Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot.
The humor of this picture is so cutting, some may walk away with the wrong message in mind. All of this talk of “Kenergy” from folks like Kevin Bacon might have people questioning why that term is still being thrown around after Barbie’s release. For that subject, actor Simu Liu provided the best response to why that phenomenon is ok to celebrate:
Kenergy doesn't always have to be, you know, aggressive horses, loud music and fur coats. It can come from within and it comes from a sense of comfort with oneself and a self-confidence that isn't projecting and isn't insecure.
Of course, it would be ridiculous to not talk about Barbie and Ken without referring to Hannah Saulic’s time with the leads of Barbie’s insanely stacked cast, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Gosling deferred to the lady of the hour when it came to having the final say on his character. It’s a fitting gesture, as Robbie’s comments pretty much hone in on the overall point of where the Kendom headed when all was said and done:
He evolves, and I think it's you know, if you want to get deep in the Barbie movie ... it's about kind of evolving as yourself and knowing that you are Ken-ough.
Viewpoints on Ken’s ending in Barbie or any piece of the entire experience Greta Gerwig and her cast have put together are always going to vary. However, the only way to really have any plastic in the game is to actually see it for yourself. If you’re somehow not one of the movie-goers who has contributed to the box office of 2023's second $1 billion hit, you can still catch Barbie in a theater near you and get caught up in the Kenergy.
