| Legally Blonde |
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USA, 2001. Rated PG-13. 94 minutes.
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson,
Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber, Jennifer Coolidge, Holland
Taylor, Ali Larter, Jessica Cauffiel, Alanna Ubach, Oz Perkins, Linda
Cardellini, Bruce Thomas, Meredith Scott Lynn, Raquel Welch
Writers: Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, based on the novel
by Amanda Brown
Music: Rolfe Kent
Cinematographer: Anthony B. Richmond
Producers: Ric Kidney, Marc E. Platt
Director: Robert Luketic
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wenty
years from now, Legally Blonde won't be remembered by the American Film
Institute as a landmark moment in American cinema, but there is a decent chance
that if he's still around, James Lipton, host of Bravo's "Inside the Actor's
Studio," will gently question (using such rhapsodic words as "dazzling" and
"uproarious") a middle-aged but still radiant Reese Witherspoon about how she
makes comedy seem so effortless. In other words, Legally Blonde is no
Election,
but Witherspoon is an immensely talented comedienne in the classic sense of
the word--like Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey or Judy Holliday in Born
Yesterday--able to play the dumb blonde without losing respect or lacking
wit.
Of course, in Legally Blonde, Witherspoon's Elle Woods isn't a dumb
blonde. She just fulfills our idea of a Southern California airhead, devoting
herself to shopping (she's a fashion major) and the presidency of her sorority
full of like-minded blondes (and a lone brunette, played by Alanna Ubach). However,
there's a keen mind lurking in the empty space supposedly between her ears.
Legally Blonde establishes in the early going that, despite her frivolous
interests and flamboyantly Southern California fashion sense (think Clueless,
only more so), Elle is sharp and observant, which makes what comes later slightly
less unbelievable.
Elle, a senior in college, is, like, totally devoted to her boyfriend Warner
Huntington III (Matthew Davis), whom she plans to marry. He has other plans.
He comes from a family of Senators, and he's off to Harvard Law School. A woman
like Elle isn't "serious enough" (or frumpy enough) to fit into his Big Plans.
Elle doesn't take being dumped well, and she wants to show Warner he's wrong.
She will accomplish this by going to Harvard Law herself. Even her sun-addled
mother and martini-chugging father don't
believe she can do it, but Elle is determined.
What follows are a series of above-average fish-out-of-water jokes and visual
gags, many involving Elle's little dog. They work because director Robert Luketic
doesn't hit you over the head (for the most part) with you-must-laugh-now direction.
He simply relies on Witherspoon to embody her character completely, which she
does, and inserts her into unusual situations. That's usually enough. One memorable
image involves a row of students with charcoal black laptop computers interrupted
by Elle's tangerine i-Book, for example. There's no setup or close-up; the incongruity
is simply there.
Naturally, Elle is an exaggerated caricature, but Witherspoon humanizes her,
investing her with grit and determination. Only Witherspoon could have played
this comedic bubblehead with nuance and grace, showing us her inner life while
still playing her for laughs. Selma Blair, who appeared with Witherspoon in
Cruel Intentions, is an effective foil as Warner's new fiancée, and Titanic's
Victor Garber adds a bit of class as a law professor who turns out to have none.
Luke Wilson (Committed), Holland Taylor (Keeping
the Faith), Jennifer Coolidge (Best in Show), and Ali Larter
(Final Destination) round out
the solid supporting cast.
Legally Blonde chugs along smoothly for most of its 94 minutes, never
feeling slow or rushed, until the climactic courtroom scene, which is far too
abbreviated. Instead of getting the opportunity to show that she's learned something,
the script calls for Elle to fall back on her knowledge of hair care to save
the day, which slightly undermines the movie's message of tolerance and not
judging a book by its cover. In fact, the story would have been better off ditching
the courtroom drama completely, which is just a stock means of bringing the
film to an identifiable climax.
Legally Blonde is a thoroughly enjoyable light comedy. If whatever movie
you go to the multiplex hoping to see is sold out, Legally Blonde is,
like, a totally legit option.
Review
© July 2001 by AboutFilm.Com and the author.
Images © 2001 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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