Greta Gerwig's endlessly entertaining flick isn't the first Barbie movie to be put to screen. However, where other precedents have stopped at princess castles and the magic of women's ballet, her 2023 piece shows every facet of the ubiquitous toy, from her stereotypical "Barbie World" to the "Real World" implications of Barbie on the feminist and body-positivity movements, and it does so with humor and heartache. This unapologetically-weird-and-all-the-better-for-it film is the crème de la crème of "franchise" movies, and has a genuinely moving and empowering message to boot.

Margot Robbie does right by Stereotypical Barbie, who lives a perfect "girl power" life in the matriarchal Barbie World. However, as her façade of impeccability begins to crumble, she must traverse the realm between the worlds and find the person playing with her to restore order to her universe. But, she soon discovers, Ken, dying for Barbie to reciprocate his romantic pursuits, stows away on her journey to the Real World, and, after being enlightened on the "joys" of patriarchy, resolves to institute it back in Barbie World.

This sounds like a ridiculous movie, but fortunately, Gerwig's filmmaking frequency is tuned into this observation, and she plays her silliness cards at every turn, morphing a potential mess of clichés and shallowness into a riotous meta dramedy. Even Helen Mirren's small role as the narrator, nostalgically ushering the characters' journey forward and poking fun at the poor casting choice of Robbie during a scene where she complains about how hard it is to be her, is impossible to ignore, and so is the delicious plastic dreamscape that is the film's cinematography and scoring (hats off to Dua Lipa). Add in Gerwig's lush, expansive direction to her adroit comedic and dramatic timing and we're delivered with an end result that far exceeds expectations on every level.

Of course a film like this will enrage some. A female director and writer? Female actors? Of all backgrounds? A message that says that women should be independent, autonomous, strong people that deserve to be treated with dignity and respect beyond the gendered realm of housewifery? Outrageous! But all kidding aside, I encourage everyone to watch this film in its entirety rather than prejudging it from what certain people have proclaimed are its diabolical goals and understanding that it isn't misandrist (Ken also has a reckoning at the end and accepts his own identity) or political propaganda (since when was female empowerment owned by any single political entity?) but rather a long overdue take on the entanglement of toys like Barbie and feminism, but also how we as a society can improve and make everybody realize that they matter beyond their measurements, possessions, or relationship status. So come on, "Barbie," let's go party!