OVERLAY REPORT

While the script for *Barbie* (2023) was meticulously written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, the director encouraged a highly collaborative environment that allowed for several memorable improvised moments and unscripted character beats. The following scenes contain specific elements that were improvised or developed spontaneously on set: ### **1. Ken’s "Sublime!" Shout** The most famous improvised moment occurs when Barbie (Margot Robbie) returns to her "Mojo Dojo Casa House" and tricks Ken (Ryan Gosling) by offering to be his "long-term, long-distance, low-commitment casual girlfriend." * **The Detail:** Ken asks her to excuse him for a moment, walks behind a swinging door, and shouts **"Sublime!"** * **The Improvisation:** While Greta Gerwig suggested the specific word "sublime" because she thought it was the "oddest word," the entire concept of the "private moment" was Gosling's idea. He suggested that Ken should have a reaction he thinks is private, but because Barbie Land houses have no walls, Barbie hears the whole thing. * **Alternate Takes:** Blooper reels show Gosling trying dozens of other improvised lines for this beat, including shouting, *"Finally! My rainbow after the storm!"* and even the lyrics, *"Her milkshake brings this boy to the yard!"* ### **2. Ken’s Double Sunglasses** During the same sequence at the Mojo Dojo Casa House, Ken is seen wearing two pairs of sunglasses at once. * **The Detail:** While talking to Barbie, Ken has one pair of sunglasses on his face and another perched on his forehead. * **The Improvisation:** Margot Robbie confirmed in interviews that this was a "spur of the moment" decision by Gosling. He simply picked up a second pair and put them on during a take to see if it would work, and Gerwig loved it enough to keep it in the final cut. ### **3. Weird Barbie’s Career Goals** At the end of the film, when the Barbies have reclaimed Barbie Land and President Barbie (Issa Rae) is handing out roles, Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) makes a specific request. * **The Detail:** Weird Barbie asks to lead the **Department of Sanitation**. * **The Improvisation:** Issa Rae revealed that this line was entirely unscripted. McKinnon, a veteran of *Saturday Night Live*, came up with the "dark and twisted" career choice on the spot, which the cast felt perfectly matched her character’s "basement-dwelling" energy. ### **4. The "Barbie Clothes" Meltdown** In the third act, there is a sequence where Ken is throwing Barbie’s clothes off the balcony of the Dreamhouse while having an emotional breakdown. * **The Detail:** Ken shouts out the names of various Barbie outfits as he hurls them. * **The Improvisation:** Margot Robbie noted that Gosling's delivery and the specific ways he struggled to pronounce the complex, "tricky" Barbie outfit names were largely improvised. The crew reportedly had to stop filming several times because the actors were "crying with laughter" at Gosling’s commitment to the meltdown. ### **5. Ken’s Wardrobe & Physicality** * **The Detail:** Many of Ken's "patriarchy-influenced" accessories, such as the way he draped multiple watches over his arms or the specific "Kenergy" poses he struck (like the "accidental" flexing), were developed by Gosling during rehearsals and takes. * **The Improvisation:** Gerwig has stated that while the script dictated Ken's transformation, the specific "three-items-on" rule (as opposed to the Coco Chanel "one-item-off" rule) was a logic Gosling leaned into, often adding more and more accessories to a scene without it being explicitly written.