Movie Reviews for Legally Blonde

Legally Blonde

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Movie Reviews of Legally Blonde

Movie Review: Beauty, Brains, and Determination...The Best Role Model
Summary: 5 Stars

Elle arrives with flair to the campus and soon discovers the world outside of LA is different. Elle runs into the ex-boyfriend on her way to her first class and makes a meeting time to "catch up" after class. She arrives to class but wasn't prepared so she was asked to leave her first class by professor Stromwell. While lamenting on a park bench, she meets Emmett Richmond (more on him later). Warren meets up with Elle and Elle is getting her groove back when all of a sudden Warren introduces her to Vivian, his fiancée.

With nothing going her way (no one wants to let her join their study group, she gets invited to a party by Vivian and just needs a good manicure). Elle meets Paulette, played terrifically by Jennifer Coolidge, at the beauty salon and who is just surviving and not really living. Elle and Paulette quickly become friends and by having regular manicures, Elle gets into the swing of things at Harvard. She starts to put her mind to the task at hand and basically does it on her own. Elle is starting to impress her professors and is asked to apply for a coveted position in Professor Callahan's law office. They are representing Brooke Taylor Windham, a famous trainer along the lines of Kathy Smith. Brooke is accused of the murder of her husband. Brooke refuses to reveal her alibi even if it means going to prison for life. Professor Callahan assembles a group of first year law students to be supervised by Emmett Richmond. He is a member of Callahan's law practice and taken with Elle. They work together on the case. Also in the group of students are Warren and Vivian, which adds some needed drama. Elle goes to pay Brooke a visit and discovers her "secret." There is a big courtroom climax and all's well (or Elle) that ends well (again Elle).

The beauty of this film is not in the story. This storyline is all formula. The acting and casting are what make this film work so well. Reese Witherspoon plays Elle just exaggerated enough to make her larger than life but restrained enough to not make her cartoon-ish. Other worthy performances are Victor Garber as Professor Callahan. He is convincing as a slimy lawyer. Ali Larter as Brooke is a good match for Reese's Elle. They are both former presidents of Delta Nu at CULA and they have the same mentality. Selma Blair doesn't play Vivian Kensington with a malicious angle. She pretty much treats Elle like most fiancées would when confronted with someone chasing their fiancé. Jennifer Coolidge gives us the best performance of the bunch. Ditzy but loveable Paulette is who you root for and has a heart of gold. I was disappointed with Luke Wilson's character, Emmett Richmond. I would have liked to have seen him guide the group more during the discovery phase. It was almost like he was a student team member instead of a lawyer himself.

Elle Woods is a character that is not bound by what those around her think. She is a force of her own and brings others around to reality. This is a fun movie with lots of snappy dialogue and great characters.

Movie Review: A very BLONDE triumph!
Summary: 5 Stars

PLOT SUMMARY: Elle Woods (Witherspoon) is your typical southern California blonde: she attends college, majors in Fashion Designing, and likes to get manicures. One night, her boyfriend, Warner (Matthew Davis), takes her out on a big date, and she and all her friends get excited, because they think he is going to propose to her. Instead, it turns out that Warner wants to dump her, because he'll be attending Harvard Law School in the fall and is looking for a more "serious" girl to marry, if he is ever going to become sentor. Heartbroken, Elle is furious and becomes depressed. But soon, Elle discovers that the only way to get her man back is to go to Harvard Law...a subject she knows little about. Elle is determinded to prove Warner wrong; that she CAN be smart. Surprisingly enough, Elle is accepted into the school. As soon as she gets to Harvard, however, she immediately stands out from the rest of the crowd, considering her wild fashion style and ultimate perkiness. But then, Elle has an encounter with Warner, and is surprised to learn that he has gotten engaged to a very preppy Harvard Law student, Vivian (Selma Blair). Vivian doesn't like Elle at all, and tries to make Elle's Harvard experience as miserable as possible, in hopes that she will find out that the school isn't right for her and leaves. Also, Elle is usually unprepared for classes (which also turn out to be miserable experiences), and Warner just can't seem to notice her. Meanwhile, Elle, upset with the way things are going, goes to get a manicure done and befriends the woman who gives her the manicure. This woman is lonely and depressed after getting a divorce from her husband and not getting a fair share in property custody. So Elle tries to help the woman get back what's hers from her husband. Also, while all this is going on, the woman tells Elle that if she wants her man back, then she must work hard to get him, so Elle decides to become serious with her work. She is surprised to find that she is actually improving, especially when one of her professors, Professor Callahan (Victor Garber), asks her, along with a few other students--including Warner and Vivian--to help him with an assignment. The assignment turns out to be a murder case. The accused? A former president of the soroity house Elle used to live in at her old college. Elle knows that the girl is innocent of the crime, but no one on her team will believe her. So Elle is determinded to solve the puzzle of the case and get her friend out of jail. By this time, she maybe starting to lose interest in Warner, for another guy has come into her life, Emmett (Luke Wilson), who is assisting Callahan on the trial.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I personally loved "Legally Blonde". The acting is superb by the entire cast, especially Reese--she ultimately shines, the script is clever and humorous, and is not offensive or dark. Since I am a Boston native, I have true appreciation for this film, since I'm always seeing preppy Harvard students whenever I visit Harvard Square (lol). The directing is awesome and it's just a fun film. You can enjoy it even if you are not blonde-haired! It's very girlie, but "Legally Blonde" will have you laughing away. The DVD is also nicely packaged, because the bonus features inlcude deleted scenes with introductions, exclusive featurettes, a Hoku music video, audio commentary, and trivia track.

I highly recommend "Legally Blonde".

Score:
100/100
A+

Movie Review: Yes, its a little daffy, but not entirely daft.
Summary: 5 Stars

Simply put, I love this movie. You can't fault a movie too much for just making you smile. There are tons of ways in which this movie could be worse, but it comes out to be a really good flick. No, you shouldn't invite your friends over for wine, cheese and Legally Blonde followed by philosophical discussions. Unless you want to have philosophical discussions in a really good mood that are wholly unrelated to the movie.

Legally Blonde just goes to show how good a formula can be, because this move is in every way another film that follows a formula, but I still can't shake my love for this film, so much so that despite the flaws that I see in the movie, I still give it 5 stars.

The most prominent flaw in this movie is the fact that Elle is pretty much morally perfect. People given to hating the sorority girl persona will also have distaste for Elle, and probably wouldn't agree with me that she's perfect. But truly, there's not really a character flaw that might cause Elle's downfall. She has to overcome other people's perceptions and there's no reason she should lose because aside from perkiness, she's got nothing holding her back. Every other character has flaws coming out the nose. The writers bank on the audience having the same distaste for Elle's lifestyle that the Harvard students in the movie do, and that's just lazy. On that note, there's very little to love in anyone who isn't on Elle's side. If it weren't for Elle's "wining personality" causing Vivian to side with her at the end of the movie, Vivian, like the rest of the characters who have it in for Elle would find herself at the end of the movie just as two dimensional as Enid, the feminist lesbian, or the guy who thinks too much of himself, or Victor Garber's character.

However, I do actually come into the movie with the same negative preconceptions about sorority girls that allows me to enjoy the film.

Reese Witherspoon carries the movie. She could probably just skip around in front of the camera while everyone else forms a circle behind her and we would probably be watching an interesting film. Fortunatley, that's not what we have here. There's a fantastic supporting cast, what with Holland Taylor, Jennifer Coolidge, Victor Garber, Luke Wilson and Selma Blair to name a few.

There are a lot of extras on this DVD, all of which are geared toward the target audience of perky blondes. If you also stick this movie in the guilty pleasures category, then you will probably not be excited about the extra features. The commentary is fun, even if we hear a little too much of "Reese is great." On that note, its fun to hear her responses as she tries to graciously accept the compliments, but you can tell that she thinks one time is enough.
The behind the scenes and making of featurettes are okay and worth a watch, but they definitely don't beg to be watched repeatedly.
The deleted scenes are fun to watch, though you can tell why they were cut (namely because Vivian is entirely too mean).

All in all, this movie probably deserves four stars, but I still think its worth the money that I paid for it. I like it. I like it a lot.

Movie Review: Not your usual chick flick! Unbelievably funny!
Summary: 5 Stars

Sorority girl of Delta New, Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon), has it all. She's beautiful, everyone loves her, and she has the love of her life, Warner Huntington the 3rd (Matthew Davis). But on the night she believes he's going to propose to her, he instead dumps her big time! After being told she's not serious enough to be his wife if he's going to become a senator, she comes to a decision; to show him how serious she is, she'll go to Harvard Law School where she'll be near Warner! But when she does, she discovers he is already engaged to another student, Vivian Kensington (Selma Blair). With the help of a manicurist, Paulette (Jennifer Coolidge), and support from the handsome Emmet Richmond (Luke Wilson) Elle decides to prove how smart she can be. Will Elle have enough heart to believe in herself to show the world the real person inside of her? Also starring Victor Garber as Professor Callahan and Ali Larter as Brooke Taylor who is being put on trial for murder.

"Legally Blonde" is not your usual chick flick, one of the reasons being that it falls in the category of a pure comedy since there really is not much romance is a way. The plot is as cute and as feel good as it gets, with an outcome you already guessed. But who cares since "Legally Blonde" ultimately satisfies you just the way it is!

Reese Witherspoon is terrific for her role as the cute and peppy girl, Elle Woods. She's incredibly funny and is very much into her role as the way she walks stylishly, swishes her hair, and 'like' talks the way which makes her so believable as a sorority girl. Her character is given some character development but not too much making it too much of a change. In the end she's still Elle, fun and lovable yet a much smarter girl. The supporting cast is also superb and it's hard not to mention all of them. I especially loved Luke Wilson, my first time to see him act though I've seen his brother Owen Wilson in many movies ("Behind Enemy Lines", "Shanghai Noon", "Meet the Parents"). Though Luke Wilson doesn't have that much screen time as I'd hoped, in every role his character Emmett is such a support to Elle. Matthew Davis is also good as the 'jerk' ex-boyfriends of Elle's. I mean from the very beginning you can't help but despise him in a way though he may seem like Elle's 'Prince Charming'.

As I have already mentioned, "Legally Blonde" is just so funny, filled with one-liners and very funny moments! There are plenty of favorite parts, some of mine including Elle's 'bend and snap' method, Elle's two friends coming to the court house saying, "How cute! There's a judge and the jury people!", Emmett giving tips on the professors, and lots more! Plus Bruiser, Elle's chihuahua is so adorable as she has as many different outfits as his master! Oh, and a bit of trivia, Reese Witherspoon's character wears 40 different hairstyles throughout the film! And a numerous array of outfits!

So if you're in mood for a fluffy and light comedy, check out "Legally Blonde", fun whether you're a blonde, brunette, or otherwise! Rated PG-13 for language and sexual reference.

Movie Review: Not Another Dumb Blonde
Summary: 5 Stars

Elle Woods (Witherspoon), blonde Calfornia girl, thinks her preppie boyfriend Warner is going to propose. But Warner thinks he needs a serious gilfriend so he dumps Elle for the brunette and more stoic Sarah. Determined to win Warner back, Elle decides to follow him to Harvard Law School. Elle's admissions video is an absolute hoot. It is nice that Witherspoon is fi8nally being noticed, after standout performances in "Pleasantville" and the best of movie of 1999, "Election". (Sorry "American Beauty".) The success of "Legally Blonde" has openned new door for her and we can expect a sequel to this and a "Honey West" series, as well as "The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing".

While in law school, Elle is not taken seriously. She shows up in class with a flowered pen and a heart-shaped note pad. Finally, she breaks down and buys a pink I-mac. The contrast between the bubbly blonde Elle and the dour Harvard stuffed shirts is wonderful. Elle manages to get assigned as an assistant on a murder case (another incredible stretch of plausibility) and is able to use all the knowledge she has gained from Cosmo. There are a couple of subplots, like Elle helping her maincurist friend find confidence and the usual sexual discrimination thing, but they are incidental to being able to watch Elle interact with all these Harvard bluebloods. And the movie has something to say about accepting people for who they are and not prejudging them.

The key, of course to the success of this movie is Reese Witherspoon. She is a pure delight to watch. She always has something out of this world to say and in spits of incredible odds, doesn't get down. She gets close, when she thinks that a professor who admired her for her brains is really only interested in her looks. However, one of her professors says to her "If you let one stupid (jerk) ruin your life, you're not the girl I thought you were". That gives Elle the courage to go forward and she discovers that it was the right thing to do.

"Legally Blonde" has been released in many cities to make up for movies that were delayed or dropped early. In this dire times, it is the kind of movie that will make you laugh - and that is what we need.