Run time: 114 mins

Greta Gerwig’s triumphant take on the Mattel icon is one of the most witty, heartfelt and outright fun films you’ll see this year.

To live in Barbieland is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you’re having a full-on existential crisis. When one Barbie doll (Margot Robbie) is expelled for not being perfect enough, she and Ken (Ryan Gosling) set off to the real world on a journey of self-discovery, opening themselves up to the possibility that true perfection comes on the inside, not the outside.

Hype for the film has reached fever pitch, thanks to months of meticulous marketing designed to herald the hotly anticipated, hot pink feature. And it charmingly delivers. Just from a visual standpoint, the craftsmanship on show here is nothing short of incredible. Next-level hair, costume and production design work brings the Barbies, their dream houses and their world to life. There is little doubt that this is going crush in the technical categories come awards season. But there’s more to it than that.

Smartly balancing both the positives and the negatives of the Barbie phenomenon, a pitch-perfect script is backed by great performances, particularly from Robbie and Gosling, turning what could have easily been a simple studio comedy into a sharp, contemporary commentary on modern society. An absolute joy.