Legally Blonde 1 was an instant hit. It was the ultimate chick flick - thoughtless, brainless, and instantly amusing. All you needed in order to watch it was your movie ticket - no brains, no intellectually stimulating discussions there. It was a fun, amusing, and completely tame movie that blew away moviegoers.
So, what did the producers decide to do? Make another, of course! Why not ruin a good thing? Why not copy the same unsinkable formula and repeat it over and over and over again until the viewer begs you for mercy? Why not use the same characters, the same lines, the same old plot and present to the viewer a steaming hot dish of rehashed potatoes? Why not, indeed.
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde was a complete waste of my money. The only reason I went to watch it was because its predecessor was great - but this movie just ruined a good thing.
About the movie
I can't imagine why you would want to know about the movie, but here is my bitter, sarcastic view of it:
Last time we saw Elle Woods, busty, blonde, and ever chirpy, she had gone from being a fashion merchandizing major to getting a Harvard Law degree and snatching up the man of her dreams in a mere three years. This movie continues where the previous left off - Elle is a successful lawyer in a top law firm, has the man of her dreams, a dog of her dreams (Bruiser Woods) - and is all set to plan the perfect wedding.
That's when she decides, in typical Elle fashion, that she wants to invite Bruiser's mom to the wedding. She tracks down the dog, only to find that it's being used to test cosmetics on. So, off heads Elle to Washington, to take on bitter Congressmen, sulky colleagues, and an evil Sally Field to singlehandedly pass 'Bruiser's Bill' - a legislation to prevent animal testing. All this, mind you, with nothing but her hair dryer, lip gloss, and 218 pairs of shoes.
The verdict
LB2 is nothing but a rehash of the first movie. In fact, some of the SAME lines have been used here, with minor adjustments. It follows the same old route, with the same old cliches, the same old people, and the same old story. It's enough to put you to sleep. Instead of spending two hours watching this movie, you can sum it up in this manner:
Elle gets a wacky idea
Elle finds a problem with said idea
Elle decides to solve said problem
Elle heads off to unthinkable place
Elle is laughed at for being too blonde
Elle cries
Elle talks to someone motivational
Elle gets motivated
Elle finds wacky, crazy, impossible solution
Elle puts said solution in effect
Elle makes the sappiest, most implausible speech possible
Elle wins
Elle lives happily ever after.
Ta da!
The good
> Reese Witherspoon can still pull off the blonde diva attitude with class
> That's it.
The bad
> Paulette Parcelle, Serena, and Margot, Elle's blonde, busty friends, are simply too lively to do any good.
> Bruiser Woods, her dog, is gay. Is that even scientifically possible? It might have been funny, but the bad acting pulled all the spark out of it.
> Luke Wilson, as Elle's fiance, is a waste of screen space. He does absolutely nothing. Most of his dialogue sounds as though it's been voice-overed. Any ounce of credibility and good acting that he had in the first movie has been smashed to smithereens in this one.
The Ugly
> Dialogues have been lifted off the first movie, and repeated mercilessly
> The view of the Congress, while momentarily amusing, is rather unbelievable. Sure, humour is good, but tacky is not. God help America if the majority of the Congressmen/women are as they are depicted in the movie.
> Elle's final speech - in one word - awful. I cannot believe that the moviemakers used the same approach as LB1 - but even more classlessly, if possible. Elle rambles on and on about her hair, making me sink farther and farther in my seat out of utter embarrassment for her unintended humiliation of herself. Whew. Long sentence.
In conclusion
Don't even bother. Seriously. This movie will make you laugh - not at its jokes, but out of contempt for its ridiculous ideas. I'm all for light hearted chick flicks - but Legally Blonde 2 just doesn't (hair)cut it.
Comments and criticisms always welcome...
