The following will get into mild spoilers for the new Barbie movie, so proceed with caution if you want to go into the comedy knowing nothing, including things that have been shown in the movie’s trailers.
There are so many things that work well in Barbie, from the performances to the music and the immaculate production design. BarbieLand looks like it was lifted straight from the imagination of a little girl, and the cast no doubt had an absolute blast filming on that pink interior. The costume designs of Jacqueline Durran deserve Oscar consideration, specifically the fur-coat look acquired by Ken (Ryan Gosling) after he ventures to the “real” world and sees photographs of Sylvester Stallone circa Staying Alive and Rhinestone. The moment that Gosling adopted that distinct look for the middle section of the movie, it instantly reminded me of a conversation he and I had about his adoration for The Italian Stallion.
Seven years ago, while Ryan Gosling was promoting his work in Adam McKay’s The Big Short, I mentioned to the actor a quote that Sylvester Stallone had given a day prior about possibly recasting the role of Rambo, and how Sly would only want Gosling in the part. As you can see, in this vintage CinemaBlend exclusive interview, Gosling is blown away by this notion, and confesses to idolizing Stallone. Watch this old clip:
So, it’s established that Ryan Gosling is an enormous fan of Sylvester Stallone, which alone could have led to the actor suggesting the Rocky star as the poster boy for The Patriarchy in Barbie, and a visual representation of all things Ken thinks that he wants to be. But then, when you read Greta Gerwig’s interview with Uproxx, you realize that the duo SHARE a mutual admiration for Stallone, and the costume modifications made in the comedy make total sense. Gerwig told the Website:
Everything that we have, or that we reference, in the movie is only ever stuff that we love. And I mean, I love Sylvester Stallone. …I love him a lot. So it was a really early thing, actually. When Ryan Gosling and I were texting a lot, we kind of both stumbled upon our mutual love of Sly Stallone. And then we were talking about his look in the ‘70s and how terrific it was. And he really adorned himself as a man. And we thought, ‘Well, that’s a good place to start.’ I mean, there are just sort of fabulous images of him, particularly in the Rockys.
Fashion in the 1970s and ‘80s was … different. And the looks that Stallone rocked would be out of place now, just as they are out of place on the reformed Ken. But he made them work at the time. Stallone makes everything work. Except maybe the lyrics to “Push” by Matchbox 20, which are far creepier than I remembered.
Audiences went nuts for Barbie this past weekend, powering the comedy to all sorts of new box office records and triggering social media trends based on costumes people wore to the movie theaters. There’s a serious appreciation for the movie-going experience at the moment thanks to the marketing sensation of Barbenheimer, and I’m curious if the effect will last as long as Ryan Gosling’s adoration for Sylvester Stallone.
Probably not.