Legally Blonde

Elle is the ultimate stereotypical ditsy blonde. She is about to graduate college and has spent the last four years being very happy--and caring less about her future. She's the president of her sorority, homecoming queen and has a great fashion sense. Her plans after graduation are to marry her college sweetheart...period. However, when the boyfriend announces that he's going to Harvard law school and gives her the brushoff, at a spur of the moment she decides she's going to Harvard law as well! While no one would think she had a brain, it turns out Elle is at the top of her class and scores a nearly perfect LSAT--and she, too, is admitted to this prestigious institution. There, however, she's like a fish out of water--and everyone laughs at the audacious and seemingly out to lunch blonde. Will Elle fail or rise to the top? No big surprises here, but it sure is a nice ride.

LEGALLY BLONDE is a movie that has no pretense. It knows it's not great art and won't be winning Oscars, yet it also is clever enough to avoid stereotypes or at least defy them. It also knows darn well that the plot is utterly ridiculous but runs with it. However, this isn't so bad, as sometimes you just need to turn off your brain and enjoy a film for what it is--entertainment. I know I am a super-critical person (hence, my 7100+ reviews on IMDb so far), but occasionally it's nice to see a film that isn't an independent film, art film, foreign film or silent--all types of films I usually watch. Sometimes you just need some brain candy! Excellent acting, a nice light directorial touch and good writing make this a standout film--and a lot better than you'd probably imagine.

Legally Blonde (2001) is a movie I recently rewatched for the first time in a long time on Tubi. The storyline follows a California well to do lady that believes she is about to marry her high school sweet heart. Her sweet heart plans to become a lawyer in hopes of becoming a politician one day and she believes she would be the perfect wife to support his goals and ambitions. He doesn't and breaks up with her because he believes she doesn't take things seriously. She looks to prove him wrong by going to Harvard and getting her own legal degree but will that be enough to change his mind?

This movie is directed by Robert Luketic (21) and stars Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line), Luke Wilson (Bottle Rocket), Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie), Selma Blair (Hellboy), Victor Garber (Titanic), Ali Larter (Final Destination) and Linda Cardellini (Scooby-Doo).

The storyline for this picture actually had more depth and better characters than I anticipated. The dialogue, interactions and circumstances are very smart and there's some good messages about not reading a book by its cover and labels. The comedic content is inconsistent but the movie unfolds well and is entertaining. There's a few aspects that were a bit much, but overall this is enjoyable. I would score this movie a solid 7/10 and recommend seeing it once.

My rule when rating movies is to review it all by itself....don't compare it to something else that's completely different from itself. That's the mindset you have to have when watching Legally Blonde, the movie that Reese Witherspoon managed to get a Golden Globe nomination out of. No kidding here. It's really an adorable movie that is appropriate for any age....a very light PG-13.

Elle Woods (2006 Oscar Winner Reese Witherspoon) has it all....the perfect boyfriend, Warner, who is handsome, charming, and driven, the perfect life, awesome friends, and a really cute dog. But all of this seems minuscule to the fact that her boyfriend has just dumped her because she is not serious enough, and he wants a girl that is well received by the public when he begins his political career. So, Warner enrolls at Harvard University, leaving Elle (it sounds like the letter 'L') disheveled and sad. Then, 'going where no blonde has gone before' (good use of tagline, right?), Elle decides to work extra hard to enroll at Harvard to win her man back. Well, Elle (funny rhyming there) achieves the requirements in tests and community service, and sends in a very interesting video essay, and gains entrance to the prestigious university. She quickly finds out that not only is her dream man already engaged to another woman (Selma Blair), but Elle is not widely liked around campus. She finds her calling in law, and with the guidance of a friend (the likable and funny Luke Wilson), proves to be a talented prospect in the field.

The film is a very watchable film from start to finish, as the movie's opening theme song (Hoku's hit song "Perfect Day") is catchy and likable. Reese Witherspoon's performance is so great and hilarious, yet so true to herself as a person. She shines like the sun in this movie. It can be a little silly at times, not to mention a tad unrealistic and dragging, but Witherspoon's ability overshadows those unfortunate facts. The supporting cast is also good, with Selma Blair and Luke Wilson leading the bunch. Also in there is 'Waiting...' star Alanna Ubach, Matthew Davis, Jennifer Coolidge (NBC's 'Joey'), Ali Larter, Victor Garber as Elle's law professor, and 'Scooby-Doo' star Linda Cardellini.

This is the ultimate 'girl power' movie that every person without a Y chromosome will love. Not all men will like it, but I enjoy it whenever it's on television. It's not something I'd buy, but one that is a great rent for the whole family. Also, a word to the wise: watch this one, and this one only, for the sequel is probably the most disappointing sequel in history.

7/10 --spy

How can a man of seventy fall in love with a movie star? Well, I did and it's easy when it's Reese Witherspoon. Legally Blond is not a perfect film - the script has more holes than Swiss cheese and the sub-plot is as old as the hills - but who cares when you are looking at Reese Witherspoon who lights up every scene as though she were Times Square personified! What a doll! Of all the current stars she is the ONLY one who really hearkens back to the Golden Age of Cinema and she especially reminds me of Carole Lombard who was the ultimate funny lady who was a knock-out too! As far as I am concerned, Reese can do no wrong - she obviously has brains besides beauty and the two are a lethal combination.

As a middle-aged bloke, a ditzy, frothy blonde who dresses in designer pink and who has as a pet a Chihuahua, who also dressed in pink would have me running for the hills, screaming and violently pulling out my own fingernails.

Unless it's Reese Witherspoon, for whom I do have a soft spot for especially when she's exactly like Miss Elle Woods here. The story itself is really rather far-fetched but even this aspect is sort of sorted by some generous bending of unwritten rules and smart legal jargon.

Legally Blonde will always work better for me, when Miss Woods is gaily arranging sorority parties and being just ridiculously OTT about fashion choices and tartly responding when others try and make her look ridiculous. This comic timing is perfectly suited to the bubbly and vibrant Witherspoon and she remains a tonic throughout.

The court case that she falls into defending might be essential to the story of how she gets her legal qualifications and to prove all her doubters totally wrong, but for me, this plays second fiddle to the comedy I mention. The romance angle, an essential premise, as at the start, her boyfriend Warner, who she was absolutely sure was going to propose to her, dumps her, essentially because she's a 'dumb' blonde.

He's off to Harvard and so, naturally, Elle scrapes through the preliminaries with the skimpiest of appropriate qualifications (majoring in obscure fashion, for example) so that he could no longer hold that reason against her. He, though, is already dating the surly Selma Blair.

I've probably seen Legally... three times now. The sequel/s don't command any great affection for me but this original is one that is both a great comedy and has a real feel-good factor too, without resorting to the gross-out and toilet humour that's unfortunately seen as an essential ingredient in today's US comedies.