The quality, the humor, and the writing of the movie is fun for a while. It's quirky and it's unique. When they get into the weeds and try to explore deeper themes, the movie is a miss. The middle expositional phase of the movie, I must say, is a bore.

The movie was so close to being great, but it was incapable of delivering a message without having a character literally give a speech worth of dialogue.

What could have been a great satire and what began as a cleverly funny movie turned into a preachy and moralizing movie in the end. But I guess the charm of the first half of the movie made up for the shortcomings.

Before making Barbie (2023), Greta Gerwig single-handedly directed two films: Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019). Both were about girls on the precipice of adolescence, both had nuanced and layered portrayals of mother-daughter relationships, both combined imaginative visuals with clever dialogue. Both were very, very good. Given those credentials, one may expect Barbie to be as intelligent, convincing and amusing a picture - and, well, it isn't.

The fantasy comedy begins in Barbie Land, a place where Barbie (played by Margot Robbie) is having the best day every day, in the company of other Barbies and, occasionally, Kens. The designs, costumes, and cinematography do an excellent job re-creating the Mattel vision in its pink plastic perfection. The introduction is referential but not overtly reliant on what is external to the film; it is smartly self-aware and presents a world where Barbie can be anything - a President, a Physicist, a Journalist, a Lawyer, or a Mermaid. Much like with the original toys, Ken (Ryan Gosling) comes as an afterthought and 'only exists within the warmth of Barbie's gaze'.

The plot is set in motion when Barbie begins having thoughts about death and, normally suspended in the state of standing on the balls of her feet, she feels her heels hit the ground. What follows is The Wizard of Oz (1939) journey in reverse (the parallel is explicit) and, ultimately, a Pinocchio storyline of the doll in the Real World.

If Barbie was fully dedicated to that conceit - as promised by the trailer - it could be an interesting exploration in the way of The Truman Show (1998) or Stranger Than Fiction (2006). Instead, the film chooses to introduce a handful of conflicts, threats, and plot-lines that are never fully realised. What is the nature of the connection between a Barbie and the girl who plays with the doll in the Real World? What would happen if Barbie were put back in the box? Why is Gloria (America Ferrera), the receptionist at the Mattel headquarters and, later, Barbie's Real-World companion, depressed - and how is that eventually resolved? Why is Gloria's daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) cross with her mother? Why does the board of Mattel spend one third of the film hiding in the bushes? Most importantly, the crux of the third-act conflict - set in Barbie Land now renamed 'Kendom' - contradicts what had been previously established about that world and its inhabitants.

Towards the finale, the production evolves into explicit commentary on gender roles. One side is presented as clueless and attention-seeking, while the other is manipulative and vengeful. The film repeatedly takes offence with 'mansplaining', yet behaves in a blithely patronising manner towards the viewer. Much of what is declared is not supported by what has been shown, and the picture relies on the presumed prior experience of the audience, rather than on storytelling. While the denouement includes one of the film's highlights, the musical number 'I'm Just Ken', the ending does not resolve (or acknowledge) much, and the final scene is reductive to the point of being offensive.

Barbie is very easy on the eye, and the acting ranges from competent to inspired, with praiseworthy performances by the leading actors. Margot Robbie is pitch-perfect as Barbie, and Ryan Gosling shines as her counterpart, often stealing the show. Situational comedy and slapstick mostly land, while some of the bon mots are funny, yet hardly plausible when spoken by the characters.

If only this were better written. If only the joyride in the pink convertible did not leave you with blond hair in your mouth.