Barbie (2023) review

In the pink and cheerful Barbieworld - where the ladies make all of the rules - "traditional" Barbie (Margot Robbie) suddenly allows the intrusive thoughts to win and becomes concerned with aging and the inevitability of death, so she's told she has to find the little girl in the "real world" that owns her doll and that will fix her woes, but as soon as she returns home she finds Ken (Ryan Gosling) and the rest of the lads have transformed it into a patriarchy ... and then the CEO of toy manufacturer Mattel (Will Ferrell) tries to capture her (to put her in a box).  For being one of the most hyped-up and lucrative summer movies of 2023, this is a sneakily subversive when it comes to discussing gender roles, identity and equality - Mattel employee Gloria (America Ferrera) has a smart monologue about the struggles many women face - and funnier than I expected, with various forms of both dolls popping up (my favorites: Dua Lipa as Mermaid Barbie, Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie and John Cena as Merman Ken) and Gosling's perpetually frustrated (and genital-less) hunk is hilarious.  Apparently, this has upset some (mostly male) commentators who say it diminishes the accomplishments and contributions of men - I can sort of see what they're saying (the Kens are dummies), but the finale suggests there's room for a middle ground.  How mad can you actually get at a movie trying to sell toys and sneak in a nice message for half the population?  Wait ... sorry.  For a second I forgot what year it was....