Legally Blonde Review
by Shannon Patrick Sullivan (shannon AT morgan DOT ucs DOT mun DOT ca)August 29th, 2001
LEGALLY BLONDE (2001) / ***
Directed by Robert Luketic. Screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, based on the novel by Amanda Brown. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair. Running time: 98 minutes. Rated PG for mild language by the MFCB. Reviewed on August 22nd, 2001.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: Before heading off to Harvard Law School, wealthy Warner (Matthew Davis) breaks up with Valley girlfriend Elle (Witherspoon) because she doesn't fit his image of a future Senator's wife. Nonplussed, Elle enrolls at Harvard to win Warner back, only to find herself looked down upon by faculty and students alike. Determined to prove herself, Elle wins a role as an assistant on a defense team for a murder trial, alongside kindly eccentric Emmett (Wilson), Warner... and Warner's new fiancee, Vivian (Blair).
Review: Proving again that Reese Witherspoon is one of the best comedy actresses of her generation, "Legally Blonde" is a joy from start to finish. A simple fish-out-of-water story at heart, rarely has the genre been blessed with such wit and verve. Elle would seem ludicrous if she wasn't so well-acted; neither too ditzy nor too smart, Witherspoon finds a happy medium which never grates and is genuinely endearing. The script by Lutz and Smith succeeds on several levels. Not only is it hilarious from beginning to end, but the laughs derive naturally out of the given scenario; there are no extraneous, grafted-on hijinks here. And, most importantly, real pathos is generated for Elle; when she finds herself the butt of student jokes and professorial scorn, it is hard for viewers not to be reminded of occasions when we've felt like we're in something over our heads. If "Legally Blonde" has a flaw, it's that none of the supporting characters can compete with Elle: this really is a one woman show. Nonetheless, good performances are turned in by Blair as the supercilious Vivian, and by Jennifer Coolidge as Elle's hapless beautician confidante, Paulette. Only Wilson's Emmett feels somewhat out of place, his role as plot catalyst proving rather too obvious. Regardless, "Legally Blonde" may be this summer's best non-animated comedy.
Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
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