After an inescapable anticipation due to marketing genius and a long wait on baited breath of what promising filmmaker Greta Gerwig would do with the source material, ‘Barbie’ is finally here. And it’s truly wonderful. As crass as it sounds, Mattel Productions (yes, the toy company behind the iconic doll), has backed a vision (yes, an actual artistic vision) that works as both an existential comedy farce and a commercial plea to embrace the controversial history of this ode to female empowerment yet impossible expectation.

The movie opens with an extended “2001: A Space Odyssey” homage narrated by Helen Mirren that basically summarizes the genesis of the popular toy while signaling that this proceeding is going to appeal to film nerds and fans of pink alike. Barbie’s creator, Ruth Handler, had explained that the idea of an adult doll for young girls to aspire to was a counter action to the fact that all dolls to that point were babies, ostensibly alluding to a woman’s role as mother and caretaker. The dichotomy of the doll in its initial inception and through the years has been that Barbie could hold any profession but also represent an impossible physical ideal. ‘Barbie’ the movie wastes no time jumping headfirst into this incongruity, introducing a luminous Margot Robbie waking up in her architectural impossibility of a Dream House.

The notes of an original Lizzo tune help detail the glittering plastic daily life of the living doll in Barbieland. A day spent fake eating and drinking unfolds as the Barbies and Kens greet each other with infectious strains of the repeated “Hi Barbie!”, “Hi Ken!” It’s both off-putting and hilarious in equal measure, as Gerwig effectively sets up this unique world. It’s only when Robbie’s “stereotypical” Barbie record scratches their nightly dance party festivities, blurting out a question of mortality, that her journey of self-discovery begins. Thus her entry into the “real world”, accompanied by the film’s main Ken, Ryan Gosling, in what is sure to become a singular role, a classic comic creation of truly masterful satire.

See, one of the hooks/tricks of the movie is also the best joke/truth in that while Ken’s only real function in Barbieland is in deference to Barbie, when inserted into Central City Los Angeles, he immediately realizes that men hold a very different position of power in society. It’s this factor, along with Barbie’s America Ferrera aided quest to find the real life person who played with her, that drive the narrative and themes of the movie. What unfolds is a star-studded farce that’s laugh-a-minute and surprisingly moving in its almost wistful tone at times. The actors sprinkled throughout seem like they are having a blast, from Issa Rae as President Barbie and Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie, to Simu Liu as a fellow Beach Ken to Micheal Cera as Allen, the discontinued doll marketed as Ken’s best friend.

Along with Margot Robbie, who championed this vision, the film truly belongs to writer/director Greta Gerwig. After bringing her coming of age to life in ‘LadyBird’ and putting her own modern stamp on ‘Little Women’, it seemed odd at first that she would want to tackle something like ‘Barbie’. After experiencing the film however, it becomes abundantly clear. There is plenty going on both on and under the surface here, in conjunction with a visual flair that includes the plastic fakeness of Barbieland, the rote office cubicle hell of Mattel in the real world, and even an old-school musical staging of dance routine. Gerwig has made no qualms around her desire to craft pop art that appeals to the masses – not only has she done so with this true summer phenomenon, she has accomplished this without sacrificing her unique artistic flourish . . .

Directed By: Greta Gerwig

Written By: Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach

Rated: PG-13

Running Time: 114 min.

* * * 1/2 (out of 4 stars) -OR- A-