Ryan Gosling on IMDb (lol).
Two stars for Slash. One star for Ryan Gosling for doing the bare minimum of being an entertainer who is entertaining. And yet, reader, I am indeed human, and like most people, I enjoyed this performance from an overall enjoyable and brisk-feeling Oscars. Trying to take on “I’m Just Ken” as just a song and not a performance is a fool’s errand. At least I can say that “I’m Just Ken” takes a truck-full-of-mediocre-Barbie-thinkpieces-load more creative risks than anything Billie Eilish has done in the past few years. So does The Zone of Interest‘s “let me make the point of this movie so clear that you don’t have to do any work” sound design. So did Robert De Niro’s face last night. So did Al Pacino “acting” like a person. My review of “I’m Just Ken” is the same review I give of Barbie: It probably defeats the purpose and messaging of the film that its best part was Ryan Gosling. But again, Slash.
-Brady Gerber
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