Legally Blonde (2001)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Robert Luketic

Writers (WGA):

Amanda Brown (novel)
Karen McCullah Lutz (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 July 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

This summer go blonde!

Plot:

When a blonde sorority queen is dumped by her boyfriend, she decides to follow him to law school to get him back and, once there, learns she has more legal savvy than she ever imagined.

Plot Keywords:

Blonde | Law | Harvard | Law School | Sorority

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 6 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Reese Witherspoon	...	Elle Woods
Luke Wilson	...	Emmett
Selma Blair	...	Vivian
Matthew Davis	...	Warner
Victor Garber	...	Professor Callahan
Jennifer Coolidge	...	Paulette
Holland Taylor	...	Professor Stromwell
Ali Larter	...	Brooke Taylor Windham
Jessica Cauffiel	...	Margot
Alanna Ubach	...	Serena
Oz Perkins	...	Dorky David
Linda Cardellini	...	Chutney
Bruce Thomas	...	UPS Guy
Meredith Scott Lynn	...	Enid
Raquel Welch	...	Mrs. Windham Vandermark

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual references.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37637) | Finland:K-3 | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Brazil:Livre | Chile:TE | France:U | Germany:o.Al. (bw) | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12

Filming Locations:

All Saint's Episcopal Church - 132 N. Euclid Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Neither the confrontation with Warner outside the courtroom nor the final graduation scene was a part of the original script. When the movie was tested, audiences were so wrapped up in Elle's story they were disappointed that she never got her revenge on Warner, and they also wanted to know what happened to her in the end (did she become a lawyer after all?). The two scenes had to be shot in England, because Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Davis were both filming there (she was filming The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), while he was filming another project) at the time. During the graduation scene, only Witherspoon and Davis are actually present. Shots of Jennifer Coolidge, Selma Blair, Luke Wilson and other supporting cast members were filmed in LA and the whole thing was edited together later.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When a witness is testifying in a trial, they are only sworn in once, before they are questioned. If they retake the stand for further questioning, they are reminded of their oath. However, Chutney is sworn in the first time - when she is testifying before her mother and the pool attendant - and then again when she goes to answer questions for Elle.

Quotes:

Boutique Saleswoman: There's nothing I love better than a dumb blonde with Daddy's plastic.

Movie Connections:

Version of Legally Blonde: The Musical (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

One Girl Revolution

Avoids the Stereotypical and Worn Roots of Previous Girl-Power Comedies...

I didn't go into "Legally Blonde" expecting too much. I rarely go to actual movie theaters to see a film (I usually rent videos/DVDs), but I got an advance on this one, and I was kind of sad it had to be this film I was going to see, but I had been invited along with two other people to see it and I wasn't going to say "no" for no reason. So I went.

One of the persons I went with just wanted to see Reese Witherspoon in a Playboy bunny costume, so I figured I was in for another average run-'o-the-mill sex comedy. But I was very surprised with the outcome.

So many girl-power comedies these days are made just for the sake of trying to prove a point that women are equals to men (I suppose that's the message behind it--what else was "Now and Then" made for?) and/or support for women. Fortunately, the 2001 hit "Legally Blonde" is not only a pleasant surprise, but an intelligent film, as well. (Sorry, that was my main "gripper" for this review and I had to leave it in.)

Reese Witherspoon plays California sorority girl Elle Woods. Unlike other people her age that are worrying about grades in school, Elle only worries about what toilet paper is the softest. But after her boyfriend dumps her and goes off to Harvard Law School, Elle is determined to go to Harvard and get her man back. So after putting together a very shallow video for the chairmen of Harvard, they accept her into the prestige college (because of her innocent sexuality, no doubt, as we see them gaping at Elle in a bathing suit on the video), and she packs her bags and heads off to Harvard with her little dog Bruiser; as the ads say, "Boldly Going Where No Blonde Has Gone."

"Legally Blonde" doesn't give up on the plot and completely divulge into dumb blonde/sex jokes. This film not only has a funny--if ridiculous--plot, but the jokes are, surprisingly, NOT crude sexual jokes. This film is not another "Scary Movie" made for teens: It has divinely orchestrated comic timing.

Sometimes the plot gets a bit too heavy--the whole teacher-hitting-on-Elle thing is a bit stereotypical for a film like this--but in the long run it seems to break away from the typical girl-power comedy.

Reese Witherspoon tends to play the same characters a lot, but hey, if she can pull them off, good for her. I don't mind if all her characters tend to be the same (to a certain extent) because they tend to be quite funny and cute--who can't laugh at her Elle Woods persona?

The film has a very nice co-star cast: Victor Garber ("Titanic," "Sleepless in Seattle"), Luke Wilson ("Blue Streak," "Charlie's Angels"), and Selma Blair ("The Sweetest Thing," A Guy Thing"--pretty much anyTHING).

In the end, not only does "Legally Blonde" come off very funny, but also very witty, good-natured and sweet: One of the most pleasant surprises of 2001, indeed.

4/5 stars -

John Ulmer