It is perhaps slightly unfair (and yet weirdly fitting, given the arc of the movie) that the most memorable song in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie isn’t about Barbie. It’s “I’m Just Ken,” a winking ballad sung by Ryan Gosling to, well, anyone who is listening, bemoaning the sad state of affairs where a Ken — anywhere else he’d be a ten! — can’t get the time of day from Margot Robbie’s Barbie.
In the film, “I’m Just Ken” becomes the centerpiece of the movie’s biggest and most elaborate musical number, when all the Kens in Barbieland begin singing and dancing together to celebrate their Ken-ness. Now this standout cinematic moment of 2023 has been commemorated with a new Christmas holiday season rendition, performed by Gosling and Mark Ronson.
In the music video, Gosling channels some old school Hollywood crooner energy, backed by a full recording studio band of musicians. I’m not sure this version is superior to the original in the film, but the spoken punchline at the end of the video by Gosling is pretty funny. Check it out:
READ MORE: The Best Movies of 2023
But that is not the only new version of “I’m Just Ken” for the holiday season. This next one is called “I’m Just Ken (In My Feelings Acoustic).” It is as advertised.
Powerful, very powerful. Listening to that just makes me want to go to the beach and do … beach. Which is an important job.
Barbie is now available for streaming exclusively on Max.
The Worst Movies of the 2000s
The 2000s were a great decade, but they produced some really bad movies.
