'Barbie' review: Greta Gerwig displays impressive blond ambition with movie

Jul. 18—If you're not a card-carrying member of the Greta Gerwig fan club, it's time to apply for membership.

The writer-director of 2017's "Lady Bird" and 2019's "Little Women" follows up those Academy Award-nominated films with the commentary-filled and still consistently joyful "Barbie."

In theaters this week, the highly anticipated movie based on the Mattel line of fashion dolls dating to 1959 is just about everything one could hope — both a critique and celebration of the enduring toy's role in the lives of young girls over the years and a colorful-and-zany romp that never forgets to entertain.

Co-written by Gerwig and her partner, Noah Baumbach ("White Noise), "Barbie" opens with an extended cut of the inventive "2001" parody from the teaser trailer released last year. In it, courtesy of narration by the majestic Helen Mirren, we are reminded that, before Barbie, girls had only baby dolls with which to play — and that being a mother is only so fun.

From there, it's straight to Barbie Land, the music of Richard Strauss giving way to something poppy and peppy and the frame being filled with mood-shifting pastel colors.

Here, feminism thrives, with an all-women supreme court, a female president (Issa Rae, "Insecure") and Barbies of various shades and shapes.

Although each actress is credited as portraying simply Barbie, some get distinctive adjectives in front of that name, the movie centering around Margot Robbie's "Stereotypical Barbie."

She awakes on this day — like those before it and those to come, the best ever! — in her DreamHouse. She takes a waterless shower and has an invisible breakfast — she is a doll, after all — and goes about her day.

She soon encounters one of the myriad Kens in Barbie Land, all of whom revolve around the Barbies. This blond Ken (Ryan Gosling), to whom "beach" is a verb, is smitten with her, but it's hard to say if she feels the same way toward him. She's also happy to have attention from a rival Ken portrayed by Simu Liu ("Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings").

The day ends in a huge party where everyone is having fun, that is until Stereotypical Barbie asks if others have thoughts about death.

Cut the music. What?!?

This Barbie soon finds herself in the midst of an existential crisis, one with unpleasant physical manifestations. After consulting with "Weird Barbie" (Kate McKinnon, who shared the screen with Robbie in "Bombshell"), she must venture to the real world to find the root of her problems.

Hoping to win favor with her, Gosling's Ken tags along. For a bit, it appears "Barbie" will lean into a fish-out-of-water architecture, with Barbie and Ken running afoul of the law and the latter learning about the patriarchy — and the coolness of horses! — but soon enough both characters are back in Barbie Land, where things are now very different. (Brace yourself for a lot of Kensplaining.)

Joining Barbie there are Mattel employee Gloria (America Ferrera, "End of Watch") and her teen daughter, Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt, "65"). While Sasha doesn't hold the dolls in the same regard her mother does, she decides to help Stereotypical Barbie and the others reclaim their world.

If "Barbie" struggles in any area, it's storytelling, with the plot feeling just a little clunky here and there.

One key element of the plot that never quite works as well as you'd hope is a horde of male Mattel executives led by the CEO, played by Will Ferrell (the "Anchorman" movies). As you'd expect, the hilarious actor gets a few laughs, but this element feels somewhat unnecessary.

All the same, "Barbie" thrives thanks to whip-smart observational humor — including the lack of powerful women within Mattel, the company deserving of some credit for allowing some laughs to come at its expense despite being a producer of the film — that is peppered throughout the affair.

And we can't forget about the lead actors.

She looks the part of the beautiful and blond Barbie, of course, but the comedically gifted Robbie ("I, Tonya," "Suicide Squad") brings a lot to the titular role. The actress makes it easy to empathize with the character as Barbie no longer feels like she fits in anywhere or with anyone.

Meanwhile, Gosling ("The Gray Man," "Blade Runner 2049") is even more impressive. He's a very talented actor, to be sure, but it's still a wonder to see him commit to this over-the-top character that you'd think is at least a bit out of his comfort zone. He's regularly riotous as the often ostentatious Ken and shines in a big musical number penned by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, the production smart to harness the "La La Land" star's vocal talents.

Music plays a big role in "Barbie," thanks to the contributions of artists including Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj and Karol G, with Gerwig also making excellent use of at least a couple of classics: Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and Indigo Girls' "Closer to Fine."

Given what it has to say, "Barbie" almost certainly won't be for everyone, and Gerwig perhaps plays with fire with a vent from Gloria she launches into after stating, "It is like, impossible, to be a woman." However, Gerwig and Baumbach cleverly find a way to make the collection of points made by Gloria a crucial aspect of the film's resolution. (For the record, it also doesn't hurt that it is, like, hard to argue with any part of it.)

Given all that "Barbie" accomplishes, down to adult jokes likely to fly over the heads of younger viewers brought to the theater with their parents, it's hard to imagine anyone building a better "Barbie" than Gerwig has.

Get those fan club applications in now.

'Barbie'

Where: Theaters.

When: July 21.

Rated: PG-13 for suggestive references and brief language.

Runtime: 1 hour, 54 minutes.

Stars (of four): 3.5.