Michael Cera didn't get to be in the Barbie group chat because he's one of those "just a flip-phone" guys

Can you imagine missing out on Ryan Gosling's meme game?

By William Hughes  |  July 8, 2023 | 2:32am
Aux News Michael Cera
Michael Cera didn't get to be in the Barbie group chat because he's one of those
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Michael Cera, all alone Photo: Jon Kopaloff

When we think about the rarefied lives of the mega-famous, there are certain signifiers that come swiftly to mind. Opulent mansions. Fancy cars. Tiny foods. And, of course, old-ass Nokia flip-phones. You know the kind: No Wi-Fi. Barely any ability to text. And of the type that society’s Michael Cera-types apparently cling to in their ivory towers, blissfully free of the blessing/burden of smartphones constantly distracting them from lives functionally ruined, thanks to constant distractions from smartphones.

(Did you know Dolly Parton uses a fax machine to chat with people? Miley Cyrus revealed it in an interview last year. Can you imagine being as relaxed as Dolly Parton, waiting calmly for the gentle whirr and crunch of an incoming fax?)

But while Cera, especially, is a vocal proponent of the flip-phone-only lifestyle—having revealed his propensities in multiple interviews of late—there are some drawbacks to this particular brand of cellular asceticism. Take a recent THR conversation he had, cued to his upcoming role in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, and in which he revealed that the film’s male stars have a group chat where they talk about, like, Ken Stuff. And Cera can’t participate.

Of course, as Cera himself notes, he’s not playing a Ken in Gerwig’s film, but an Allan—thus remarking that “I wouldn’t belong on [the group chat] anyway, because Allan is sort of in his own little world.” (The group chat apparently formed while the male cast members were doing their own thing while star Margot Robbie was holding a sleepover for all the Barbie actresses; they are really trying to sell the vibe on this one, huh?)

Cera previously revealed his flip phone kind of life back in February, noting that, “For many years, people resented me for this lifestyle choice. But now people say that they envy it.” (Did you know Chris Pine only got a smartphone in 2022, and he frequently sounds like he’s made a Faustian bargain while describing it? “I don’t know if my soul can handle it,” he told the Happy Sad Confused podcast last year. Pray for Chris.)

Anyway, Cera is holding strong so far—even if he’s missing out on Ryan Gosling’s meme game, which we can only assume is thoroughly on point.

 
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