How Greta Gerwig landed on that memorable '90s song for the Kens in Barbie
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Barbie Land advisory: This article contains spoilers for Barbie.
Along with Dua Lipa's disco pop track "Dance the Night" and Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice's Aqua sampler "Barbie World," some unexpected artists appear in Greta Gerwig's Barbie.
In an effort to reclaim Barbie Land from the Kens and the patriarchy (though the leather decor and animal-print area rug do add a nice touch to Barbie's dreamhouse…), the Barbies, led by Margot Robbie's Stereotypical Barbie, hatch the ultimate plan to get the Kens, led by Ryan Gosling's real world-corrupted doll, to turn against each other. It's a simple but effective one: damage their respective egos, leading to an all-out Ken war. Then, while the Kens are preoccupied with their own Kenkirk on the pastel pink shores of the beach, the Barbies restore the Barbieocracy.
And it all begins with a Matchbox Twenty song.
Warner Bros. Pictures Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ryan Gosling, and Ncuti Gatwa in 'Barbie'
Yes, the musical stylings of Rob Thomas & Co. play a pivotal and amusing role in the restoration of Barbie Land. One evening by campfire, the Kens all perform a cover of the band's 1996 song "Push" while the Barbies feign interest in other Kens, driving the singing Kens mad with jealousy. So, how does a Matchbox Twenty song appear in a Barbie reimagining with an existential twist?
During EW's Around the Table with the cast, Gerwig cites the desire to pair both Barbie and Ken with corresponding '90s hits. While departing Barbie Land for the real world, for instance, Robbie's Barbie is notably singing along to "Closer to Fine" by Indigo Girls. (A cover by Brandi Carlile, below, even graces the starry soundtrack, which also features Lizzo, Karol G, and Billie Eilish, among others.) "I was like, well, if Barbies loved Indigo Girls' 'Closer to Fine,' which is one of my favorite songs of all time, the Kens might really attach to Matchbox Twenty," the director, who co-wrote the script with Noah Baumbach, explains.
"Push" in particular was a controversial hit when it arrived on the airwaves. With lyrics like "I wanna push you around" and "I wanna take you for granted," feminist groups at the time condemned the track as misogynistic. Thomas disputed the claims, calling it a "sad love song" and stating that it presented three different points of view. "I was trying to make it a panoramic song," he told the Washington Post in 1998. "The chorus is just the overall way I was looking at relationships at the time." It's certainly an astute choice for Gosling's Ken, who grapples with Barbie's indifference toward him before he undergoes his own journey of self-discovery.
Warner Bros. Pictures Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in 'Barbie'
Gerwig, who was born in 1983 and came of age with the hit, recalls how difficult it was to escape the song as a teen. "It was playing all the time on Quad 106.5 when I was in seventh grade, and if it wasn't playing there, it was playing at 107.9," she says. "I really loved that song. I listened to it all the time and I was like, 'I feel it. Something's in this.'"
Gosling had to learn the words and recorded the song at London's famed Abbey Road Studios. Gerwig recalls when he FaceTimed her from the studio, noting that he was admittedly "self-conscious" about having to sing it. (Gosling is still self-conscious about it now, he jokes in response.) Gosling's cover of "Push" will also be featured on the soundtrack Barbie: The Album, available now.
"Push," of course, isn't the only musical moment for the La La Land star in the film. He also performs "I'm Just Ken" — a memorable '80s rock ballad featuring Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen on the guitar and Josh Freese on the drums — centered on the woes of being No. 2 to Barbie. "Where I see love she sees a friend, what will it take for her to see the man behind the tan and fight for me?," he croons in the catchy track. Gosling, a former child star and Mouseketeer on The All New Mickey Mouse Club during the early '90s, says he tapped into his younger self to play the musical character.
"At a certain point I thought I had left that kid behind, and I realized that I needed his help to make this movie," Gosling says. "So I had to go back and make peace with him and ask for his help. It was good for me."
Watch Gerwig discuss the serenade track choice above. For more Barbiesms (and Kenisms), check out EW's full Around the Table with the cast below. The Kentriarchy is in theaters now.
These interviews were conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
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