Barbie

The doll industry might be suffering in this age of high-tech entertainment options for children, but the cinematic infomercial Barbie won’t save the day.

Clever and playful yet overstuffed with self-aware gags, this meta comedy from director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) dissects the Barbie legacy through a contemporary feminist lens. This version of the titular toy is much more than just high heels, form-fitting outfits, matching accessories, and blown-out hair.

The result is breezy and amusing for a while, simultaneously paying tribute and poking fun at the source material, then bogging down in an existential crisis that doesn’t connect its parallel worlds with emotional conviction.

In the perpetually chipper Barbieland, everybody is named either Barbie or Ken and enjoys every idyllic day at the beach. But when one Barbie (Margot Robbie) begins to show some imperfections — cellulite, wrinkles, gasp! — she discovers it might be due to human mistreatment.

She learns of a way to leave Barbieland and sneak into the “real world,” ostensibly to meet with toy executives and fix the issue, with her buff Ken (Ryan Gosling) tagging along.

They struggle to fit in amid a real world that lacks nonstop sunshine and rainbows, instead confronting misogyny, cynicism, intolerance, and sadness that can ruin your mascara.

Reaching the office of a clueless CEO (Will Ferrell) proves more problematic, as he’s anxious to keep Barbie in her place. “No one rests until this doll is back in a box,” he barks.

As a nostalgic mother (America Ferrera) and her skeptical daughter (Ariana Greenblatt) offer to help, their adventure has ramifications back home, too, triggering a battle of the sexes for control of Barbieland’s future.

It’s bathed in pastels and plastics and every conceivable shade of pink. However, beneath the campy surface, the film stumbles as an examination of beauty, conformity, and empowered self-discovery.

With a nod to multicultural inclusion, Gerwig and her fully committed ensemble cast have fun with the over-the-top vibe. Among the other Barbies are Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, and singer Dua Lipa.

Along the way, the screenplay digs into the essence of why kids play with Barbie in the first place. Does she reinforce stereotypes and personify greedy consumerism, or does she provide an outlet for imagination and self-worth?

Such muddled introspection spoils the party in a film that provides some big laughs before drowning its worthwhile message in image rehabilitation and sentimental self-importance.

Rated PG-13, 114 minutes.