Life in plastic is fantastic for this 'Barbie'

Warner Brothers and Mattel have a hit on their hands with this funny mature quirky take on the most well-known doll in the world, and I was ready to take a trip to Barbieland as well.

Written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach and directed by Gerwig, "Barbie" takes itself just serious enough for audiences to relate to the core themes in the land of pink and the film's surreal "real world".

Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence.

Trailer courtesy of Warner Brothers

I, like many of you, was aboard the hype train for this star-studded pink piece of pop culture that's obviously a commercial for one of the world's most well-known toys.

And now we've arrived at our destination.

Was the wait worth it?

Absolutely.

Margot Robbie shines here as she's done in all her work. I'm so impressed with her ability to give depth to the artifice that is a child's plaything.

The themes here aren't new. We’ve seen a plethora of films that deal with the relationship between a child's favorite toy and its effects on the child's emotions. Just look back at the origins of "Winnie the Pooh" and the entire "Toy Story" franchise and you'll see it's been a goldmine of inspiration.

What "Barbie" does differently is point out the disappointments that can build while maturing into an adult. The idea of expectations and if you're good enough to those around you, no matter what gender you are.

Heavy topics for a film based on the 64-year-old children's toy. It's executed in such a fun and earnest way along with great performances all around, that although this is a giant commercial, it can still be enjoyed as the unusual film it is.

When I think about how it will be perceived in the future, say 20 years or so, I believe it will be thought of as a "cult classic" along the lines of "Grease" or "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".

The film breaks the fourth wall multiple times, which I'm not too surprised by since it was co-written by Noah Baumbach, a frequent collaborator of Wes Anderson, a man known for his films' meta nature.

Gerwig's known for her down-to-earth grounded films like 2019's "Little Women" and her 2017 original film "Lady Bird", a favorite of mine. To see her flex her more fantastic side was a pleasure.

The film has a stacked cast that includes Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu both as different Kens, as well as Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie with Hari Nef and Dua Lipa as other Barbies, and so many more.

Margot Robbie plays the stereotypical version of Barbie.

The film starts in Barbieland where everything is sunshine and fun when Barbie (Robbie) begins to think about death and the meaning of their existence.

This leads to a chain of events where her and Ken (Gosling) go to the real world to find the human who's playing with the real-world Barbie since their emotions are entangled.

Chaos follows as a Ken realizes the world is run by mostly men instead of how Barbieland is run by mostly women.

Ken, having been rejected by Barbie, takes a sort of revenge by starting a patriarchy in Barbieland all the while the buffoonish version of the CEO (Will Ferrell) and board members of Mattel chase after Barbie to return things to normal.

The human who's been causing Barbie's feelings, ends up being a mom with a strained relationship with her daughter. The mother, Gloria (America Ferrera), is disappointed with how her life turned out and how detached her daughter seems.

She reminisces about when the two would play with Barbie dolls. A more innocent time before the angst of teenage life took her daughter.

It becomes a fight to get back to Barbieland with the help of the mom and daughter to reverse the damage the Kens have done.

It all works out through a series of fun montages to un-brainwash the Barbies and distract the Kens through jealousy, which results in some of the funniest scenes in the film. An all-out Kens vs. Kens beach battle.

Gosling delivers side-splitting moments of singing, sarcasm, and physical comedy.

The song, "Just Ken", is a distillation of the film's themes. Barbie and Ken both want to matter as singular individuals.

To be good enough as is, without being co-dependent.

It ends on a high note, the revelation that everybody is good enough as they are and although the world isn't perfect, it's always worth it to try to make progress.

Overall, I was impressed by this slick film slathered in hot pink. It's a genuinely funny film and pokes enough fun at the Barbie brand where I can look past the blatant commercialism for an hour and a half.

I say take a trip to Barbieland. It's fantastic.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR ME

• Michael Cera as Allan, Ken's Buddy - There's a lot of subtle humor around this character's history that makes it work.
• The music. What a fun soundtrack.
• John Cena's small role as Merman Ken is great.
• The satirical elements about how weird the "real world" is.