Unlike "Bratz," at least Barbie has careers

Based on the immensely popular character dolls with risqué wardrobes, creepy owl eyes and sassy plumped-up lips, "Bratz" is the second movie of the summer to spring from a line of toys. "Bratz" may not be as bombastic as "Transformers," but the target demographic will doubtless find it just as awesome.

The live-action versions of Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos), Jade (Janel Parrish), Sasha (Logan Browning) and Cloe (Skyler Shaye) aren't quite as disturbing as their synthetic counterparts. But they still bring to life the Bratz ethos of materialism and plastic friendship.

As the opening sequence attests, these girls think closets full of possessions are paradise; "I love the smell of retail in the morning," chirps one as they troll the mall.

On their first day as freshmen at Carry Nation High School, they discover that a system of social cliques is ruled by one cruel living doll named Meredith Baxter Dimly. She's also the daughter of the inept principal (a mortified Jon Voight, his humiliation aggravated by a prosthetic nose), who has festooned the campus with banners bearing slogans such as "Obey," "No Gambling" and "Win at All Costs."

Meredith wins at splitting up the four among rival cliques. But since the movie is about overcoming peer pressure, being true to oneself and solidarity in diversity, we flash-forward two years — just in time for them to reunite in the realization that they've forsaken their "BFF" (Best Friends Forever) vow.

The big showdown against Meredith empowers all the battling cliques to come together in a talent show where the Bratz sing about "bratitude" and "raditude" which, like, totally wins them the most awesome reward they can imagine — being featured stars on the red carpet at an MTV movie premiere.

Preteen to middle-school girls may find the lesson in consumer culture at the heart of "Bratz" subliminal. But others who watch with more sense than adoration will likely be dumbfounded by the venal messages of pettiness and possession that the movie honors above all else.

Ted Fry: tedfry@hotmail.com