I just saw Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. Wow. What a disaster.
This movie showed absolutely no restraint at all. Everything was over the top, excessive to the point of torture, and not very funny at all, to boot. This is, without a doubt, Reese Witherspoon's worst movie to date. And I'm a Reese Witherspoon fan! (She was absolutely brilliant in Election, a real gem of movie.)
The first Legally Blonde movie was like a burst of fresh air. Perhaps I was taken by it because I was in the midst of applying to law schools when I first encountered it. The movie was a commentary on the American dream, but unlike American Beauty, it was not as bent on declaring it a sham. But neither was it intent on shamelessly fawning over its possibilities. There was always a sense of sacrifice and loss attached to Elle Woods' success. (She lost her love, her place in the world in L.A., her blissful ignorance, her innocent outlook, etc. And what higher price is there to pay than one's innocence?) Therefore, we never felt cheated by her success, as if it were too good to be true. So many movies focusing on the American dream fall to this cliche of insincerity.
Legally Blonde 2 is not about the American dream. It is about gay dogs. And purile politics. And of course, stuffy office-mates who lighten up in the end. There is nothing original, nothing to be learned, nothing to talk about. Eminently predictable, this movie trudges along tiresomely, as if going through the motions of a movie simply because the producers knew that any sequel to Legally Blonde, no matter how awful, would make some money at the box office. And they were right. This is an excellent example of form over substance. Unfortunately, the form is so unavailing and unredeeming that I question whether it can hold itself to be "over" anything at all.
I'd give Charles Herman-Wurmfeld's Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde a D.
[Visit this author's blog page at Unfashionable Observations.]
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Thanks UO, very fine job (and got ALL the posting crap right the first time!) - glad to have you with us!
2 - Michelle
Originally I wanted to watch this movie, because I was surprised to like the first part. Now I'm not so sure anymore... And anyway, pink's so not my color!
3 - j3rk
Well, I haven't seen the first one, what with my fear of Reese Witherspoon's GIGANTIC HEAD - but I digress. Fans of Legally Blonde 1 and 2 - report to the Center for Enforced Eugenics immediately.
4 - EUGENIC CHADBOURNE
Eugenics is false science. It is about the selective prevention or encouragement of births for social, racial, or political ends. When promoting anti-natalist measures, such measures are often hidden beneath rhetoric about freedom of choice or reproductive health. When eugenic goals demand increased fertility, those goals may be advanced in the name of national power, race survival, or even family support programs (including maternity leave, day care, child care allowances, etc. as in much of Europe today) which would be considered progressive if not for the intent behind them.
5 - Ashley
I just got finished watching leagaly Blond 2 and it was great I loved it it was so funny it had a great meaning and plot i like alot better than the first one if there is a leagaly blond 3 i hope its great.
6 - jane smith
I LOVE THAT MOVIE YOU ARE A BIG BUTT
7 - Phillip Winn
Well, gosh, when you put it that way, now I do want to see the movie!
8 - julia
hey!
the film 'legally blond' was a very funny film although it was not realistic. The first part was quite good but the second part was too 'pink'!
9 - crumblepie
I agree. Legally Blonde 2 is strictly for fans of Legally Blonde, whereas the first one can be enjoyed by a wider audience.
10 - Nancy
I did like the early scene where she shows up in her Jackie Kennedy Pepto-Bismol-pink suit & hat (& matching dog) & traipses up the capitol steps. I have to admit I also liked watching Sally Field play the heavy for a change. Other than that, I agree, it was a wash.
11 - reggie von woic
Nancy, If that's the kind of stuff you notice in a movie, perhaps in this case you would have been satisfied by walking past the window of one-of-those-places-that-sell-expensive-women's-clothing, and a pet shop.
Legally blonde 2 will only worsen my opinion on Legally blonde 1.
12 - Nancy
Well, it depends. I really, Really, REALLY liked the navy suit & hat Pat Swayze wore in that scene from "To Wong Foo", too.
13 - Faye
The chihuahua was the star, that's why he got a bigger role in 2.