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.
