reese witherspoon, sally field,
bob newhart, luke wilson,
regina king
unfashionable observations rating: D
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.
Legally Blonde 2 is an 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.
