Ever since we got our first look at Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie, we’ve been talking about his “Kenergy”, and even though barely anyone has seen the movie yet, consensus is already that Gosling was perfectly cast. We have not, however, given equal attention to Michael Cera as Allan, the one non-Ken in Barbieland. Allan is a doll that was introduced and quickly discontinued in the 1960s. He was meant to be Ken’s best friend, but no one cares about Ken, so he doesn’t need friends. And thus, Allan was abandoned.
Can I just say? That casting Michael Cera as Allan? Is PERFECT? This is the man who so totally embodied “dejected” that he became a meme! Who better to play Ken’s forgotten, discontinued best friend? I am very much looking forward to seeing what Cera does in Barbie, especially within the Barbie-Ken binary as a non-Ken. What is his Allan energy? His Allanergy? Justice for Allan and Allanergy! Okay, fine, it doesn’t roll off the tongue like “Kenergy”. I’ll give you that. But that’s just part of Allanergy. It isn’t slick like Kenergy. It’s a little awkward.
Here is Michael Cera in New York yesterday, with his old school film camera and flip phone. The flip phone has recently been a hot topic, since Cera was not included in the Barbie group chat. Hard to do, though, without the right equipment. Chris Pine got a lot of love for a lot of years for clinging to his flip phone. Will Michael Cera win hearts and minds the same way? Or is it only hot when a heartthrob does it?
