We Rewatched Barbie And It’s Completely Different Now

Poor long-suffering Allan. Played by Michael Cera, Ken’s buddy helps stage a coup, fights a bunch of rogue Kens, and helps the Barbies bring peace and order back to Barbie Land … but why? As he says to Gloria and Barbie when the Kens take over: «I cannot sit on one more leather couch, it will break my spirit.» So why does he stay? Well, in an interview with ScreenRant, Cera said it’s because he thinks Allan might be in love with Ken.

«The way I read it in the script was that Allan is sort of obsessed with Ken, if not in love with him,» Cera explained. «I love that he just wants the best for Ken, even if that means Ken not being near him. He wants Ken’s happiness. I thought that was sort of a life of servitude in a way. Distant yearning.» Greta Gerwig also said in her director’s commentary, «Allan is the most tragic figure in Barbie Land, which Michael and I decided would be correct for Allan — that not everybody gets their fantasy.»

Star and producer Margot Robbie weighed in on potential queerness in Barbieland, saying in an interview with Attitude, «They are all dolls, so they don’t actually have sexual orientations because they don’t have any organs or reproductive organs.» Nevertheless, many critics — especially at LGBTQ+ outlets Them and Out — have identified Allan as the queer core of «Barbie.» Maybe one day there will be a spin-off project that gives Allan his due. Until then, he can wear all of Ken’s clothes.