Dear Gossips,
No one is doing it better right now than Ryan Gosling. And by “it” I mean fame, celebrity, generally just having a great f-cking time. Which is notable because Ryan’s been famous for a long time now, but this last year or so has been the most famous he’s ever been. And it seems, from this vantage point at least, that he is thriving, comfortable, maybe even enjoying it a little?
People like to dump on Saturday Night Live every Saturday night. As you know if you visit these parts often, I’ll always be a defender, and there have been several episodes this season worthy of defence. But some episodes are easier to defend than others, and this weekend, with Ryan hosting for the third time, and showing up in the cold open with Kate McKinnon to revive their now iconic alien abduction sketch, you could instantly tell that he’s one of their favourites.
The writing was weird and ambitious, the cast seemed extra hyped, and even a bit looser. There were several breaks from cast members and Ryan himself. That whole Beavis and Butthead sketch was basically just about them losing their sh-t over Ryan and Mikey Day looking ridiculously accurate as Beavis and Butthead. Praise hands all the way up for the hair and makeup department for those costumes – and for whoever it was who made sure that Heidi Garder would not see either of their costumes ahead of time because that was about as live of a reaction as you’re ever going to see on television.
Ryan was committed but not too committed where he didn’t allow himself to be silly and he was willing: willing to be stupid, put on a Cuban accent in loving appreciation (with the added layer that his wife, Eva Mendes, is Cuban and was namechecked several time during that sketch, and willing, once again, to put on the fur coat and make his opening monologue about how he can’t quit Ken – with an assist from Emily Blunt, with whom he’s starring in The Fall Guy. So it’s also smart business. You can promote your new movie by squeezing as much out of your old movie as possible.
But to go back to the willingness – we have seen time and again stars exhausted by the characters that make them so popular. Some of them, after award season, are done with it and get precious about not wanting to be identified with those roles anymore.
Ryan Gosling’s out here holding onto that Kenergy for as long as he can, and mocking himself over it. And borrowing from Taylor Swift’s catalogue with his own Ken cover of “All Too Well”, which made my petty ass think of Jake Gyllenhaal and how he’ll never be able to escape it, LOLOLOLOL.
And finally… PAPYRUS! What did I tell you about Papyrus!
Attached – photos of Ryan shooting the Papyrus sketch in New York last week.
Enjoy him now while you can. Because this will be it for him for a while. After The Fall Guy he has no projects in post-production. His next project is Project Hail Mary, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Last word on the film is that production is scheduled to begin in June with an anticipated release date of 2026. Ryan Gosling is a few weeks away from a break. We thank him for his service.
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
