Cook review: ‘Barbie’ is more flexible – and funny – than you might think

“Barbie” is more flexible than you might think.

The genre-defying movie is a self-referential comedy, a plot sometimes worthy of a “Twilight Zone” episode, and a social commentary about what it means to be a woman, the film is well worth the buzz that has preceded it for months.

Who else but Helen Mirren could be the narrator of this hilarious, smart hot-pink spectacle that’s a kind of biopic for Mattel’s iconic doll? And who else but the wonderful Margot Robbie could play the title role?

Robbie is Stereotypical Barbie, with the blond locks, the Dream House and of course a bevy of friends who also are named Barbie. Whether it’s at the beach, the Supreme Court, or party where the dancing is choreographed, the Barbies are in charge.

In Barbieland, life is one long frolic and sleepovers are routine. But Ken (Ryan Gosling) would like to have Barbie to himself occasionally.

Barbie likes Ken well enough, but she doesn’t have romantic feelings for him. She has other things to worry about anyway: She has begun to have strange thoughts about dying. And on her perfect thighs, she suddenly has cellulite. The horror!

She meets with Kate McKinnon’s Weird Barbie, and finds out she is malfunctioning because of incidents that have occurred in the Real World. Now Barbie must head to the Real World to find that person and discover what is going on.

Barbie, accompanied by Ken, who sneaks along, discovers the Real World is not as they imagined. When Ken finds out what a patriarchy is (at first, he thinks it has something to with horses) he begins change … and not for the better.

When Mattel realizes two of its dolls are on the loose in Santa Monica, a manhunt … er, dollhunt … led by its CEO (Will Ferrell) ensues.

The look of the movie and the designs of its environments, whether in the Real World or Barbieland, are worth a second viewing on their own. The performances are Oscar-worthy. Don’t be surprise if you see members of this ensemble pop up on year-end “best of” lists.

Lifelong Barbie aficionados like me will love the nods to other dolls that appear in the movie (stick around through the credits to see more.) Whether you hate Barbie, love Barbie, or fall somewhere in between, it’s certain you’ll be dazzled by the movie’s looks and you’ll have some laughs as you travel to the Real World and back to Barbieland.

3 ½ stars

Running time: One hour and 54 minutes.

Rated: PG-13 for suggestive material and briefly coarse language.

At Cinemark, Davenport; Regal, Moline; and Palms 10, Muscatine.

Watch the trailer here.