Why Barbie's American Roots Caused Problems For Margot Robbie & Ryan Gosling

Part of what makes "Barbie" such a treat for viewers is its attention to detail. While many have noted the impeccable accuracy of several elements that make up the titular character's world, the screenplay has just as much intricacy. Some of that comes from the full-on Americana on display in Greta Gerwig's film.

In a sense, there's nothing more American than Barbie, and that was kind of the problem for the film's stars, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. With Robbie hailing from Australia and Gosling being a Canadian actor, they both struggled with some of the elements of speech that were a part of the megahit movie.

In an interview with BBC Radio 1, Robbie was asked if she had a hard time with the quip-heavy screenplay. She confessed it was difficult to say the word "rollerblades" in an American accent. "It was rollerblades. It's really hard to say in the American accent." Interestingly, when you hear her say it in the movie, she seems to struggle a bit to roll out the second 'r' of the word. As for Gosling, he noted that he had a hard time with some of the rhyming names and alliterative phrases peppered throughout "Barbie." 

"There was also a string of Barbie clothes that was really hard, like 'Pajama Jam In Amsterdam Set,'" Ryan Gosling said. "'Pretty Paisley Palazzo Pants.' Try that one." Considering how closely the movie skews to nailing the "Barbie" brand with tongue-in-cheek absurdity while also creating punchy dialogue, it's easy to see how lines like these might trip up the actors in the film. 

"Greta, she really listens to the rhythm of dialogue, and she wanted this kind of, you know, quick pace," Margot Robbie explained. "And there [were] some lines where I'm like, 'I know I'm Stereotypical Barbie, I'm not meant to form conjectures based on the causality of adjacent unfolding events ... blah-blah-blah-blah.' Like, you know, stuff like that where I was like, 'Ah, okay, that's a mouthful."

For a movie that is so likely to be seen by kids, the themes and ideas on display can be surprisingly heady in "Barbie," and Robbie clearly struggled with how to suitably articulate these concepts through her often-aloof character. Still, this precise attention to detail will likely lead viewers to discover or re-discover all kinds of new things to appreciate as they go back and rewatch "Barbie."