In True Allan Fashion, Michael Cera Wasn't In The Barbie Cast Groupchats

According to extant Barbie lore, Allan — introduced by Mattel in 1964 — is Ken's best friend. He was about the same size as Ken, so the two were able to swap outfits at a moment's notice. As the years passed, Allan's evolving outfits began to trace out a narrative for the man. In 1990, Mattel introduced Wedding Day Allan, wherein he was wearing a groom's white tuxedo (which quickly became a honeymoon outfit). It seemed that Allan (later Alan) was marrying Barbie's friend Midge. Additional toys saw Alan and Midge getting pregnant (customers were notoriously weirded out by the pregnant Midge doll), and Alan, later pushing his son Ryan around in a stroller. 

In Greta Gerwig's new hit film "Barbie," Allan does appear, played by actor Michael Cera. "Barbie" begins in an Edenic playworld called Barbieland wherein all the women are named Barbie and they are all happy, capable, and in positions of power. All the men, meanwhile, are named Ken, and they don't seem to have any jobs other than trying to impress the Barbies. The most prominent Ken (Ryan Gosling) describes his job as "beach." Allan is present as well, and that's all one can really say about him. Allan is perfectly capable of taking up several cubic meters of space, and his personality may very well exist. He is the only man not named Ken. Allan will eventually come to resent living, essentially, in limbo. 

Allan's own semi-purgatorial world extended behind the scenes as well. When all the Barbie actresses convened for a shindig, the Ken actors were allowed brief contact, and they instigated a fun group chat. In a recent interview with People Magazine, Cera revealed, however, that he was left out of said chat. He figured that was by design. 

The same People interview revealed that shooting "Barbie" was a literal party. Producer and star Margot Robbie famously held a sleepover with the film's many Barbie actresses ... and none of the Kens were invited. This was the get the cast into the "girl's night" mentality of living in Barbieland. Ken actor Simu Liu said that the Kens could visit briefly, but were not allowed to stay. Some were brought into a group chat. 

Allan wasn't there. No one invited Allan. Cera knew why. It was partly because of Cera's own personal technology choices, and, well, mostly because who cared about Allan? Cera said: 

"I don't have an iPhone myself ... I have a flip phone. But I still think I wouldn't belong on anyway because Allan is sort of in his own little world. Greta's gift for me, when I arrived, was a picture disc of *NSYNC's 'No Strings Attached,' which felt like somehow a real guiding light in the backstory of this character."

"No Strings Attached" was *NSYNC's third studio album, released in March of 2000. It was a time when boy bands stalked the Earth in herds, annoying parents with their bubblegum sounds and instigating puberty in young girls everywhere. The grit and variety of '90s rock and hip hop had come to an end, and ultra-polished, kid-friendly ultra-pop had taken their place. Allan would have listened to *NSYNC without a thought in his head, happily crooning "It's gonna be May" without realizing the title of the song is "It's Gonna Be Me." 

Then again, according to the film, Allan is also all of *NSYNC, so whatever choice he makes while singing is the right one.