Margot Robbie is a revelation as the titular “Barbie.” (photo courtesy of Warner Bros.)

“Barbie” has caused quite a stir.

She dares to show a world – Barbie Land – that is female-dominated where the men have little to do other than look pretty and serve their female counterparts. Of course, they’re all anthropomorphic dolls. I feel that’s important to mention. But according to click-baity far-right internet personalities “Barbie” is leading an anti-male war by subverting what has been the societal norm since the Big Bang.

Beyond its staggering box office returns and stellar critical reviews, it has also managed to anger these conservatives, whose names are not worth repeating here. Their issue is with what they see as the tarring and feathering of masculinity, which Barbie has apparently toppled with platform heels and a killer blow-out.

I don’t have to tell you this, but they’re missing the point – though they’ve managed to fly around it a few times without bothering to land. “Barbie” is holding a fun-house mirror up to society, showing men what the world has looked like for millennia. When these people – I hesitate to call them “critics” – complain that a hypothetical movie that showed a similar male-dominated world would be (their favorite word) “cancelled,” they are neglecting to realize that world is what has always existed.

They are forgetting that we still live in a country where a woman has never been president, and polling numbers suggest there isn’t a woman that can come close to that office anytime soon. America’s own vice president faces critique far beyond what any male counterpart has ever been subjected. It was only seven years ago, you might remember, that a woman some called the most qualified person ever to run for public office lost to a man who is now under federal indictment, among copious other legal problems. And that man is still, somehow, the frontrunner for a major party nomination.

So as corners of the internet argue that the inverse of patriarchy is somehow debilitating to masculinity, I wonder what exactly they’re afraid of … that showcasing a world where women hold the keys instead of men might inspire more women to step into leadership roles? That the tale-as-old-as-time of male dominance might be replaced with … equality? Why are these people so threatened by a subversive message that highlights just how difficult it is to be a woman in the world? Do they not like pink?

Maybe you want to know exactly what the movie is about. I’ll tell you.

The story kicks off on a day where Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) and her seeming perfection are interrupted by thoughts of mortality. Then strange things begin to happen … her feet go flat and she develops a patch of cellulite. She visits Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), who advises her to go to the real world, find the human that is playing with her and confront the problem head on. And so off on adventure, reluctantly with Ken (Ryan Gosling) in tow, Barbie goes. In the human world, which is represented by Venice Beach and Century City, she meets Mattel employees played by America Ferrera and Will Ferrell, who, each in their own way, may turn Barbie Land totally upside down.

Barbie Land is run by women, and the real world is quite obviously largely run by men. That’s it. That’s the controversy. How will society go on? Rhetorical. Don’t answer.

What Greta Gerwig has achieved with “Barbie” is nothing short of astonishing. Like so many movies based on products before it, “Barbie” could easily have been a cheap cash-in, a transparent doll-selling tool with safe villains, heroes and humor. Gerwig had a different movie in mind.

It shouldn’t be a surprise. Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” was one of the best films of the last decade, and one of the better, most realistic mother-daughter tales period. “Little Women” honored its author and source material while still giving the titular “little women” a  modern, feminist slant. Gerwig makes movies that evoke truth, and she certainly doesn’t shy away from political statements.

“Barbie,” or at least the first Barbie character we think of when we think of Barbie, has long been the subject of body image and gender role discussions, and the debate has centered around whether or not the doll is simply aspirational or, more dramatically, detrimental to a young girl’s psyche.

Male-female dynamics are explored in “Barbie,” starring Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie. (photo courtesy of Warner Bros.)

Where the film “Barbie” excels is in its ability to thread the needle between the various Barbie commentaries. Its messaging is not subtle, but it never loses whimsy or humor. The commentary grinds the drama, but the dramatic bite never comes at the sake of the comedy. Gerwig’s brilliance is in communicating through and with laughs. When we hit the movie’s “big, big moment,” shrouded in white light and a sage Rhea Pearlman (I’ll let her character remain a secret), it sells – as the movie makes a conscious decision between living a lie and facing reality. It’s heavy-handed, to be sure, but days later I still haven’t shaken this moment’s power. Nor, apparently, have some of the fragile masculinity camp.

Robbie is, in a word, a revelation, performing what is a near-impossible task. She’s playing the epitome of supposed perfection, and yet she is tasked with embodying a doll that is having an existential crisis. We watch as she is confronted with the mind-numbing pessimism of reality and how deeply it conflicts with the confection of the world she knows. Near the end of the film, there is an extended close-up of her face that communicates such a confounding series of emotions, I was left in awe. It is the kind of performance that is often overlooked when award season comes around, but Robbie should 100% be in that conversation.

Ferrera has the film’s best speech, a diatribe that sums up the movie’s thesis, and she delivers it with aplomb, surging the movie into the final act with ferocious energy and anger, all while Gerwig manages to keep that light, self-referential humor squarely centered.

It’s genius. The examination of male and female has perhaps never been stronger. It is an argument for equality that puts a mirror directly on the patriarchy’s feeble attempts at elevating women, and particularly female voices, in society. It speaks to the fears men have in losing a sense of status. It talks about how men are driven by ego. And yet the script, penned by Gerwig and husband-collaborator Noah Baumbach, is smart – it neither hides its messages nor beats them over the head. It walks a tightrope expertly as it argues for equality.

But beyond any message, it is just laugh-out-loud funny. It’s the movie the world needed this summer in so many ways – a deceptively candy-colored treat layered with nutrients. Believe the hype. “Barbie” is great. For most, it won’t cause any concern, and it is unlikely to shake up the entire world. But I hope it makes a dent.