Honorary Ken Rob Thomas Dedicates 'Push' To Ryan Gosling At Matchbox Twenty Concert

This article contains spoilers for "Barbie."

Even though "Barbie" may be the title of the movie, based on the iconic Mattel doll of the same name, the dude doll known as Ken has a pivotal part to play, and it's not just as Barbie's boyfriend. Ryan Gosling plays the buff, blonde beau (with looks inspired by a young Sylvester Stallone) who has a bit of an existential crisis when he realizes that Barbie doesn't want to be with him. But before that, Ken shakes up Barbieland by bringing in the worst parts of the patriarchy that he learned about in the real world. From spruced-up Hummers to mini-fridges filled with beer, the Barbie Dream House becomes Ken's Mojo Dojo Casa House, and it throws everything that was once perfect about Barbieland into complete chaos, at least for the Barbies. Of course, the Barbies devise a plan to take back control of Barbieland, and it involves turning all of the Kens on each other by luring them into a false sense of security through the majesty of song. 

In order to keep the attention of the Kens, all the Barbies pretend to fall back into the brainwashed mode that the patriarchy pushed them into, making them the perfect non-committal casual girlfriends for Ken to spend time with. That means all the Barbies have to sit on the beach near a bonfire and let the Kens sing at them while playing acoustic guitar, just like all the coolest bros do. And what's the perfect song for all the Kens to serenade all the Barbies with? It's Matchbox Twenty's hit song "Push," of course.

Now, before you go feeling bad for Matchbox Twenty becoming a punchline in the "Barbie" movie, you should know that frontman Rob Thomas totally approved this hilarious use of the song "Push" in the movie. In fact, Thomas explained the inception of the song while discussing the "Barbie" reference with USA Today, and the origins make it the perfect song for Ken to sing:

"What's funny is, I wrote that song about someone I had been with who I felt was manipulating me and taking advantage of me."

Considering that Ryan Gosling's Ken believes that he's not being paid proper attention by Barbie, and he's constantly vying for her attention and love, "Push" is the ideal song for this moment, especially since his perspective on his own place in the world is just as warped as the time in which the song was written. As Thomas reflected,"The '90s was a time of manufactured angst, and nobody wanted to be a victim in a song." Yeah, that sounds like Ken in the "Barbie" movie.

In case you need any more convincing of Thomas fully supporting the mockery of Matchbox Twenty's tune, a fan who attended a recent concert with the rock band captured this moment where Rob Thomas dedicated the song to Ryan Gosling:

"i'd like to dedicate this next song to ryan gosling" – rob thomas pic.twitter.com/m0fOQAWzV1

— hannah c 🍅 (@hannahcroteau) July 24, 2023

Now if we could only get Rob Thomas to dress up like Ken and perform the song, then the circle would be complete.