Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Review

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Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Review

By Shawn McKenzie 07/02/2003

Somehow, I wasn’t worried about Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde sucking. I loved the first movie, and the trailers gave me the impression that I would be getting more of the same. I’m so glad I was right.

Perky blonde Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) has everything going right for her. She graduated at the top of her class at Harvard Law School, was hired at a top law firm, and is planning her upcoming wedding to Professor Emmett Richmond (Luke Wilson.) One of the very important guests she wants to invite is the mother of her Chihuahua dog, Bruiser, but doesn’t know where she lives. Elle hires a private investigator to track her down, and finds out that she is living in an animal research lab where she is being used to test cosmetics. Elle is shocked that animals are being tested upon in the name of fashion, so when she finds out her law firm represents them, she wants them to tell the lab to set the animals free. They feel it would be a conflict of interest, and they fire Elle when she stands up for what she feels is the right thing to do. She is bummed about losing her job, but she still wants to help the animals. She decides to go to Washington, D.C. to see if she can get a law passed in Congress banning animal testing. She gets a job as a legislative assistant to Congresswoman Rudd (Sally Field), a fellow blonde Harvard alum who supports animal rights causes. Her new co-workers, including Chief of Staff Grace Rossiter (Regina King) as well as staffers Reena Gulani (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and Timothy McGinn (J. Barton), have a hard time taking Elle seriously, especially since she arrives looking like Jackie O in pink (Timothy calls her “Capitol Barbie.”) Realizing that she is going to have to do everything herself, Elle does her research on how to get a bill passed. She finds out from Sid Post (Bob Newhart), a doorman of the Watergate Hotel who knows every politician in town, that there are two people she will have to convince to join her cause; Committee Chairwoman Libby Hauser (Dana Ivey) and conservative Member Stanford Marks (Bruce McGill.) Elle tracks down Hauser by finding out her hair-coloring schedule. At first Hauser is a tough nut to crack, but when Elle discovers that Hauser is a member of her sorority, it is uphill from there. As for Marks, it is love for his own dog (and a characteristic of his dog that is shared with Bruiser) that convinces him. She is given the opportunity to present “Bruiser’s Bill,” a bill that will outlaw animal testing for cosmetic purposes, before the House. She has Sid help her prepare the bill to be put in the hopper before the committee. She almost has the bill passed when something unexpected happens to stall its passage. Elle then calls in her hairdresser friend, Paulette Parcelle (Jennifer Coolidge), and her flighty friends Margot (Jessica Cauffiel) and Serena (Alanna Ubach) to help her and Sid. By this time, she gets some help from Reena and Timothy, who are impressed with all she has accomplished up to that point. Grace, on the other hand, still doesn’t like Elle, and along with others who are against the bill, conspire to block its passage. Elle has the daunting task of getting a law passed and planning her wedding at the same time. It’s just another day for America’s favorite intelligent, fashion-conscious blonde!

This movie has essentially the same plot as the first movie. Elle does a major life shift for a selfish, fickle reason, and realizes that it is more important than she thinks. In the first movie, it was joining Harvard Law School to get back with her boyfriend. In this one, she wants to get a law passed to spring Bruiser’s mom. If a comedy is funny enough, I will occasionally forgive an unoriginal plot. This one is very funny, and very cute, just like the first one was.

I like to compare the Legally Blonde movies to the WB series “The Gilmore Girls.” Both are over the top cute without being saccharine. You get just enough not to get a mental toothache. In this one, little in-jokes cracked me up. During the opening credits, Elle and Paulette are looking through a picture book and come across a picture of Congresswoman Rudd. Paulette says how she likes Rudd, she really, really likes Rudd (spoofing the Oscar speech Field gave when she won Best Actress for Places in the Heart.)

The bottom line is, if you liked the first movie, you will love Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. Witherspoon may not get another surprise Golden Globe nomination out of it, but you will find yourself rooting for the little blonde that could once again.

1/2