Passions: Ryan Gosling’s turn at the Oscars was a joy

Ryan Gosling performing I’m Just Ken from Barbie at the Academy Awards. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Sometimes a popular culture moment just gets you. The finale of a series like Fleabag or Happy Valley perhaps. An earworm of a song – Daft Punk’s Get Lucky springs to mind. For me, it’s Ryan Gosling’s stellar live performance of I’m Just Ken from the Barbie soundtrack at this year’s Oscars.

Why do I love it so much? There’s the fun, the silliness, the pink Gucci suit covered in crystal drops. There’s how it was staged, with our hero beginning to serenade the object of his affection from behind a black cowboy hat, shades on obvs, one seat back from Barbie herself, Margot Robbie, in fits of laughter already, clutching the hand of their director Greta Gerwig.

It just gets better. Barely able to contain his own mirth Gosling strides onto the stage. He’s joined by an army of Kens, including the ones from the movie, like our own Ncuti Gatwa, dashing to the front of the Dolby Theatre to set up a dance formation that echoes that other famous blonde, Marilyn, and her iconic rendition of Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Then there’s Slash! The Guns ’n’ Roses guitarist is revealed in the second half of the performance, with his soaring guitar solo giving the song new plangent depths of meaning.

It really shouldn’t be this good. Written and produced by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt for Barbie I’m Just Ken was nominated for Best Original Song but it’s not even the most successful song on the Barbie soundtrack with Billie Eilish and Finneas taking home the Oscar for What Was I Made For?

And yet. It was a moment. Listen to those lyrics – joyously chanted back to Gosling in a lovely bit of audience participation by Gerwig, Robbie and Best Supporting Actress nominee America Ferrera, “I’m just Ken (and I’m enough) And I’m great at doing stuff.”

Gosling’s co-star in La La Land Emma Stone joined in, later claiming in her acceptance speech for her Best Actress Academy Award that her Louis Vuitton dress “broke” during the performance. “I think it happened during I’m Just Ken,” she said of the bust zipper.

Sure Oppenheimer was the movie that won all the gongs this awards season. but I’ll bet Team Barbie had the best time on that tour. I can feel the Kenergy.

Alison Gray is Assistant Editor of The Scotsman

Passions: Ryan Gosling’s turn at the Oscars was a joy – you could just feel the Kenergy