Rating: 
(out of 
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Grade: C-
In 2001, the original Legally Blonde debuted to mostly good reviews and word of mouth. Even though we had seen (and continue to see) the same plot line of an underdog triumphing over the “system,” there was something genuinely heart-warming of good intentioned girl from Bel Air, Elle Woods and her dog Bruiser. As cute as it was, Legally Blonde was pure sugar and as everyone knows, too much can make you sick. In 2003’s sequel, we reach our limit ten minutes in. The formula and characters were able to entertain for 90 minutes in 2001, but Legally Blonde 2 is illegally repetitive.
Compared to Elle’s latest adventure, taking over Harvard was small potatoes. This time Elle is after Washington, and is crusading for animal rights. When Elle attempts to track down Bruiser’s mother for her wedding to Emmett, she discovers that his’ mother is being used as a test subject for a cosmetic’s company. Unable to convince the law firm she works for that they should do something, Elle heads to Washington. Charming one conservative at a time, Elle begins to get close to her goal when the sneaky nature of politics catches up to her.
While the fact that a ditzy blonde can conquer Harvard University is all well and good, there is just something very unsettling about one conquering our legislative system. The way the movie portrays supposed United States Congressmen and Senators is irreverent and appalling. The humor of LB2 doesn’t stop or begin at insulting our governmental system though, the majority of the humor comes from an even more taboo subject: gay animal sexuality. I never thought I would see Sally Field’s name sharing a billing on a movie poster where below in the rating reasons, you can find “animal sexuality.”
When Legally Blonde 2 isn’t being abrasive, its being rather repetitive bland. (That’s bland, not blonde.) Red, White and Blonde is almost a carbon copy of the first movie, without any of the magic. It appears as though the only thing that’s changed since 2001 is the setting, now Washington D.C. With little change to the formula, there are obvious chinks in the ‘Legally Blonde’ armor, that weren’t noticeable the first time around in just about every place imaginable, from the characters, to the dialogue.
In the two years since the first Legally Blonde, not only has Reese Witherspoon’s star power risen, but so has her salary. Commanding $15 million to reprise her star-making role as perky Elle Woods. Her high salary isn’t without merit, though, as who can imagine anyone else in the role? As she has shown with movies like Election, Witherspoon has considerable acting talent. And although Elle Woods isn’t necessarily the character to show an audience what she’s got, the character could easily have appeared deflated without a certain charisma that Witherspoon not only possesses, but is able to channel into her acting. Able to save some of the movie with their individual talents as well are Sally Field and Bob Newhart, who both have more than cameos. On the other hand, Luke Wilson takes a big step down in screen time from the first movie, as Elle’s fiancee Emmett. This won’t be a problem for him though, as LB2 represents his fourth movie of the year, and third in back-to-back-to-back weekends!
Coming into the summer 2003 movie season, I knew that I was looking at a few disappointments. With a sequel heavy summer, anyone could tell that there were bound to be a few films that just couldn’t stand and deliver. In my eyes though, LB2 did stand and deliver: anyone who has seen the original Legally Blonde can testify that the movie is no more than a one-trick pony, and a sequel would be a rehash of the original, and so it was. Even radiant performances from a A-list cast couldn’t save the unoriginal script that plagues every minute of Legally Blonde 2’s 95 minute running time.
© 2003 Jacob Sproul
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