Summary
- Gosling’s
hilarious
SNL monologue hinted at his strong attachment to his previous role as Ken in Barbie, despite ostensibly promoting
The Fall Guy
. - The Barbenheimer phenomenon with Gosling and Blunt was celebrated in a heartfelt musical performance on
SNL
, reminiscing about their characters. - The eulogizing song reflected the massive success of Barbenheimer, teasing whether Blunt and Gosling can achieve the same in
The Fall Guy
.
The wonderful Ryan Gosling hosted Saturday Night Live the night of April 13, promoting his already acclaimed blockbuster action film with Emily Blunt, The Fall Guy. Except, during his monologue, he still seemed deeply attached to his previous role — Ken in the most successful film of 2023, Barbie. He was part of a phenomenon with his Fall Guy co-star, Emily Blunt, who starred in Oppenheimer. Together, they headlined the massive Barbenheimer phenomenon that brought in more than $2 billion dollars.
“I’m here because of my new movie, The Fall Guy, with Emily Blunt. So don’t worry, I’m not going to make any jokes about Ken,” said Gosling during his SNL monologue. “Ken and I had to break up. We went too deep. So it’s over, and I’m not going to talk about it. I actually am going to talk about it a little bit. You know, when you play a character that hard, that long, letting go just feels like a break-up. And for processing a break-up, there’s only one thing that can help — the music of the great Taylor Swift.”
He then proceeded to cover Taylor Swift’s song “All Too Well” with original lyrics referencing his performance as Ken.
Best Ryan Gosling Movies, Ranked
Ryan Gosling has something more unique than just pretty looks or acting chops: an alien charisma that layers every character he occupies.
Barbenheimer Comes Alive One Last Time in Ryan Gosling’s Memorable Song
“I swear Venice Beach is true, my clothes were tight, but something about that spandex felt so right. I left my rollerblades in that big pink house, but I still got that fur coat, and I’ll wear that right now,” sang Gosling, sliding on a fur coat. “That sweet definition of my washboard abs, singing Indigo Girls in the car with Babs. If I said that I was doing fine, you know I’d be lying, ’cause I was just Ken, and now I’m just Ryan.”
3:54
Ryan Gosling’s ‘I’m Just Ken’ Performance Steals the Show at the Oscars 2024
Ryan Gosling performed a show-stealing rendition of the Barbie anthem I’m Just Ken at the 96th Academy Awards.
Emily Blunt joined Gosling on stage then, reminding him to promote The Fall Guy, not eulogize his performance as Ken in Barbie. They bantered a bit. She hit him with a bottle and a chair to simulate his stunt man performance in The Fall Guy, and she said, “Ryan, you have to move on. It’s time.” But Gosling, and eventually Blunt, continued to sing.
“Here we are again on the technicolor beach. I didn’t win the Oscar, it was just out of reach. I was there, bleached blond hair, now it’s time to wish Ken farewell,” sang Gosling, eventually roping Blunt into the musical performance.
“Father of the atom bomb and a bottle of Jack,” sang Blunt. “I used to be the alcoholic wife of a dude in a hat. Talking to Albert Einstein, sipping a margarita, with Sir Christopher Nolan and the Baghavad Gita.” Together, Blunt and Gosling sang in tandem, “And I miss all my Kens. And I miss Cillian Murphy, and you should really see The Fall Guy. But I just can’t seem to let Ken go. ‘Cause there we are again back in 2023. It was the Barbenheimer summer, it was just you and me. Drunk on beer, no body hair, now it’s time to wish Ken farewell.” They concluded:
We were Kitty and Ken, I wish you could have seen us. You were loyal to the end, and your guy had no penis. Must confess, we’re a mess to impress, now it’s time to wish Ken and Kitty, both of them, farewell.
It was a funny and surprisingly catchy and sweet musical number, a kind of Barbenheimer eulogy, tenderly looking back on one of the biggest cinematic phenomenons in decades. Now let’s see if Blunt and Gosling can replicate any of that success in the new film, The Fall Guy, in theaters April 19, 2024. You can watch the trailer below:
