Legally Blonde (2001)
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Legally Blonde Movie Review
Legally Blonde is a 2001 comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and starring Reese Witherspoon. It’s a predictable, but very funny movie.
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“Hi. I’m Elle Woods and this is Bruiser Woods.
We’re both Gemini vegetarians“
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It is about a sorority girl who attempts to win back her ex-boyfriend by getting a degree at Harvard Law School, and in the process, overcomes stereotypes against blondes and triumphs as a successful lawyer thanks to the help of her knowledge in fashion and beauty. This movie is one of those Hollywood comedies that are extremely unrealistic and predictable in every plot point. This story could never possibly happen in real life, but you simply suspend your disbelief watching the movie as it’s so damn fun and endearing.
This was one of the breakthrough roles for Reese Witherspoon and her comedic timing has never been better than it was here. She is hilarious throughout and very believable in the role of this glitzy, seemingly dumb, but appealing and endearing blonde who is much smarter than initially thought. Elle Woods surely is one of the classic comedy characters. Her pink dresses, purse and cute small dog make her instantly memorable and the charm of the character is through the roof.
The male characters are clearly much less interesting than the female ones in this female-oriented picture, which is fine, but still I wanted more from Luke Wilson. He is quite forgettable and the first boyfriend is your typical archetype that the protagonist needs to get over. But I did really like Victor Garber and how he played realistically this professor character who ends up sexually harassing Elle.
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That was the reason behind his support of her all along, and it’s one of the only believable plot points in an otherwise silly movie. I found Elle’s two ditzy friends quite amusing and Jennifer Coolidge was also wonderful. The friendship between the two is amazing and the dog-centric subplot involving these characters put a smile on my face.
Legally Blonde is a very funny movie, especially in the first half. This is where the humor reached its highest points as following Elle go to Harvard and attend classes was hilarious, especially her reactions to school life and her many funny lines about fashion were scene-stealers.
The movie clearly struggled to maintain the same level of engagement and strong humor in the second half that became overly concerned with the courtroom drama elements, but at least the final court hearing was very funny. Again, it was unrealistic, but also hilariously positioned on the character’s knowledge of fashion and beauty products, which led to her winning the case. That entire scene was so funny and well executed, but everything before that in the second half was not as interesting.
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The flick is solidly directed and very well acted, but the pacing was off in the second half as the first half’s brisk energy was clearly much better suited for the comedy genre. But the costumes for the protagonist are all iconic and the soundtrack is also fantastic and so much fun.
