Even though she is only a doll, she does not have to be an airhead. Here in lies "Lady Bird" filmmaker Greta Gerwig's creative, modern-day approach to bringing one of America's most recognizable toys to life on screen. When you add that to the decision to cast Margot Robbie in the lead role, "Barbie" is off to the right, flawlessly arched start.

Barbie's aspirational charm contributes to her brand's strength. Barbie has been criticized for imposing unattainable beauty standards, but she also served as a reminder to girls that everything is possible because different models have depicted her as the president, a rocket scientist, and even transgender. Do you know who else has inflated ideals of beauty? Celebrities in movies. They act as role models, much like Barbie, which is why Gerwig's interpretation of the wildly successful toy brand is so creative.

While making Ryan Gosling's dumb Ken the brunt of most of its gender-equity humor, this film hits all the appropriate criteria. The result is a very funny children's film with the phrases of a first-year liberal arts student, which tosses around terms like "patriarchy" and "appropriation" - pretty much everything but "problematic," which the film means without actually referring to Barbie's legacy.

The script by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach feels most audacious on this front. The hit movie "Barbie" openly accuses the best-selling doll of undermining the women's movement in addition to making light of Mattel.

With a subject like this, the power of nostalgia shouldn't be understated, since much of Gerwig's approach affects mature women and homosexual audiences who have owned the dolls - and for whom she has concealed references and deep-cut facts throughout. Even though Gerwig occasionally uses the film as the vehicle for what seems like a gender studies lecture for undergraduates, it is evident that the movie was created by professionals who understand how children's imaginations develop while playing with Barbies.